TWI860516B - Mist generating device, mist film forming device, and mist generating method - Google Patents

Abstract

The mist generating device (MG1) for generating mist (MT) containing microparticles (NP) of the present invention comprises: a container (30a) which holds a dispersion (DIL) containing microparticles (NP); a first vibrating section (32a) which suppresses aggregation of microparticles (NP) in the dispersion (DIL) by imparting vibration of a first frequency to the dispersion (DIL) in the container (30a); and a second vibrating section (34a) which imparts vibration of a second frequency higher than the first frequency to the dispersion (DIL) in the container (30a) for generating mist (MT) containing microparticles (NP) from the surface of the dispersion (DIL).

Description

Mist generating device, mist film forming device, and mist generating method

The present invention relates to a mist generating device for generating mist containing microparticles and a mist generating method thereof, a film forming device for forming a thin film on a substrate using the generated mist and a film forming method thereof, and a device manufacturing method for manufacturing electronic devices using the formed thin film.

When manufacturing semiconductor components, display components, wiring substrates, and sensor components, a film containing various substances is formed on the surface of a base material such as a metal substrate or a plastic substrate using a film forming device. As a film forming method using a film forming device, various methods are known, such as a method of forming a thin film on a base material in a high temperature environment in a vacuum, a method of applying a solution containing a substance (microparticles) to be formed on the surface of the base material and drying it. In recent years, based on the reduction of manufacturing costs and the improvement of productivity, film forming methods that do not use a vacuum method have attracted much attention.

As an example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-210422 discloses a film forming method as follows: a solution or dispersion containing a metal substance is sprayed onto a substrate in a mist form to form a transparent conductive film on the surface of the substrate serving as a base material. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-210422, the substrate is set to a predetermined temperature, and in this state, a solution formed by dehydrated ethanol and hydrochloric acid containing a zinc compound (zinc chloride powder) and a tin compound (tin chloride powder) at a predetermined concentration is atomized, and the mist is sprayed onto the surface of the substrate to form a transparent conductive amorphous film. The dehydrated ethanol and hydrochloric acid function as a surfactant that inhibits the aggregation of zinc chloride powder and tin chloride powder in the solution.

However, if a surfactant is added to the solution, the surfactant will remain in and on the formed thin film, and the residual surfactant may act as an impurity and degrade the properties of the thin film electrically, optically, or chemically. Therefore, the residual surfactant needs to be removed by heat treatment such as annealing the thin film, which not only increases the steps and working hours for film formation, but also results in the limitation that only heat-resistant metal substances or substrate materials can be used.

The first aspect of the present invention is a mist generating device that generates mist containing microparticles, and includes: a first container that holds a solution containing the above-mentioned microparticles for generating mist; a first vibrating portion that suppresses the aggregation of the above-mentioned microparticles in the above-mentioned solution by imparting vibration of a first frequency to the above-mentioned solution in the above-mentioned first container; and a second vibrating portion that imparts vibration of a second frequency higher than the above-mentioned first frequency to the above-mentioned solution in the above-mentioned first container for generating mist containing the above-mentioned microparticles from the surface of the above-mentioned solution.

The second aspect of the present invention is a film-forming device that uses a mist containing microparticles to form a thin film on a substrate, and includes: a container that holds a dispersion containing the above-mentioned microparticles; a first vibrating portion that applies vibration of a first frequency to the above-mentioned dispersion in the above-mentioned container, thereby causing the above-mentioned microparticles to become a dispersed state in the above-mentioned dispersion in which the size of the aggregates is suppressed to be smaller than the size of the above-mentioned mist; and a second vibrating portion that applies vibration of a second frequency higher than the above-mentioned first frequency to the above-mentioned dispersion, thereby generating a mist containing the above-mentioned microparticles from the surface of the above-mentioned dispersion.

The third aspect of the present invention is a method for generating mist, which generates mist from a dispersion containing microparticles, and includes the following steps: suppressing the aggregation of the microparticles in the dispersion by imparting a vibration of a first frequency to the dispersion; and imparting a vibration of a second frequency higher than the first frequency to the dispersion to generate mist containing the microparticles from the surface of the dispersion.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is a film forming method, which uses mist generated from a dispersion containing microparticles to form a thin film on a substrate, and includes the following steps: suppressing the agglomeration of the microparticles in the dispersion by imparting a first frequency vibration to the dispersion; and generating mist containing the microparticles from the surface of the dispersion by imparting a second frequency higher than the first frequency vibration to the dispersion.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is a device manufacturing method, which manufactures electronic devices by performing a predetermined treatment on a substrate, and includes the following steps: imparting a first frequency vibration to a dispersion containing microparticles to suppress the aggregation of the microparticles in the dispersion; imparting a second frequency vibration higher than the first frequency to the dispersion to generate a mist containing the microparticles from the surface of the dispersion; exposing the substrate to the mist to form a thin film containing the microparticles on the surface of the substrate; and patterning the thin film formed on the surface of the substrate to form a pattern that constitutes at least a portion of the circuit of the electronic device.

The sixth aspect of the present invention is a device manufacturing method, which manufactures electronic devices by performing a predetermined treatment on a substrate, and includes the following steps: imparting a first frequency vibration to a dispersion containing microparticles to suppress the aggregation of the microparticles in the dispersion; imparting a second frequency vibration higher than the first frequency to the dispersion to generate a mist containing the microparticles from the surface of the dispersion; and exposing the substrate to the mist to selectively form a thin film formed by the microparticles on a portion of the surface of the substrate corresponding to a predetermined pattern for the electronic device.

The seventh aspect of the present invention is a mist generating device, which generates mist containing microparticles, and includes: a first container, which holds a dispersion containing the above-mentioned microparticles; a first vibrating part, which imparts vibration of a first frequency to the above-mentioned dispersion in the above-mentioned first container; a second vibrating part, which imparts vibration of a second frequency different from the above-mentioned first frequency to the above-mentioned dispersion in the above-mentioned first container; and the above-mentioned mist is generated from the liquid surface of the above-mentioned dispersion by the vibration of at least one of the above-mentioned first vibrating part and the above-mentioned second vibrating part.

The eighth aspect of the present invention is a mist generating device, which generates mist containing microparticles, and includes: a first container, which holds a solution containing the above-mentioned microparticles; a first oscillating part, which suppresses the aggregation of the above-mentioned microparticles in the above-mentioned solution by imparting vibration of a first frequency to the above-mentioned solution in the above-mentioned first container; and a second oscillating part, which generates mist containing the above-mentioned microparticles from the liquid surface of the above-mentioned solution and imparts vibration of a second frequency higher than the above-mentioned first frequency from the outside of the above-mentioned first container; the above-mentioned first oscillating part and the above-mentioned second oscillating part are arranged to be separated by a predetermined interval in a plane parallel to the liquid surface of the above-mentioned solution.

The ninth aspect of the present invention is a mist generating method, which generates mist containing microparticles and includes the following stages: storing a solution obtained by mixing the microparticles at a predetermined concentration into a liquid that does not contain a chemical component that serves as a surfactant in a first container, generating mist containing the microparticles from the liquid surface of the solution by applying a first vibration wave to the solution or heating the solution; and applying a second vibration wave to the solution that is larger than a size that suppresses the microparticles from agglomerating into the mist in the solution.

With respect to the mist generating method of the present invention and the mist generating device for implementing the mist generating method, the film forming method for forming a thin film using the mist generating method and the film forming device for implementing the film forming method, and the component manufacturing method for manufacturing electronic components using the mist generating method, preferred implementation forms are disclosed and described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the aspects of the present invention are not limited to the implementation forms, but also include those with various changes or improvements. That is, the constituent elements described below include those that can be easily assumed by the industry and those that are substantially the same, and the constituent elements described below can be appropriately combined. In addition, various omissions, substitutions, or changes can be made to the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[First embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic structure of a device manufacturing system (substrate processing system) 10 of the first embodiment. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, an X-Y-Z orthogonal coordinate system with the gravity direction as the Z direction is set, and the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are described according to the arrows in the diagram.

The component manufacturing system 10 is a manufacturing system that manufactures electronic components by performing predetermined processing on a flexible film-like thin substrate FS. The component manufacturing system 10 is, for example, a manufacturing system composed of production lines for manufacturing flexible displays (film-like displays), film-like touch panels, film-like color filters for liquid crystal display panels, flexible wiring, or flexible sensors, etc., which are electronic components. The following description is based on the premise that a flexible display is used as an electronic component. Examples of flexible displays include organic EL displays and liquid crystal displays.

The device manufacturing system 10 has a so-called roll-to-roll structure, that is, a supply roll FR1 that rolls a thin sheet substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) FS is fed out, and various processes are continuously performed on the fed substrate FS, and then the substrate FS after various processes is taken up by the recovery roll FR2. The substrate FS has a belt shape with the moving direction (transportation direction) of the substrate FS being the long side direction (long dimension) and the width direction being the short side direction (short dimension). In this first embodiment, an example up to the following operation is shown: the thin sheet substrate FS is taken up by the recovery roll FR2 after being processed by at least the processing devices PR1 to PR6.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the X direction is the direction of the substrate FS from the supply roller FR1 to the recovery roller FR2 in the horizontal plane parallel to the installation plane of the device manufacturing system 10 (the conveying direction of the substrate FS). The Y direction is the direction orthogonal to the X direction in the above-mentioned horizontal plane, and is the width direction (short dimension direction) of the substrate FS. The Z direction is the direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction (upward direction), and is parallel to the direction of gravity.

As the material of the substrate FS, for example, a resin film or a foil (metal sheet) made of a metal or alloy such as stainless steel can be used. As the material of the resin film, for example, a material including at least one of polyethylene resin, polyether resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, ethylene-vinyl ester copolymer resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyphenylene sulfide resin, polyarylate resin, cellulose resin, polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polycarbonate resin, polystyrene resin, and vinyl acetate resin can be used. In addition, the thickness and rigidity (Young's modulus) of the substrate FS can be within the range that does not cause creases or irreversible wrinkles caused by buckling of the substrate FS. As the base material of the substrate FS, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film, PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) film, PES (polyether sulphate) film, etc. with a thickness of about 25 μm to 200 μm are typical thin-film substrates.

As for the substrate FS, since it is heated during the processing performed by each of the processing devices PR1 to PR6 of the device manufacturing system 10, it is preferable to select a substrate of a material with a not too large thermal expansion coefficient. For example, the thermal expansion coefficient can be suppressed by mixing an inorganic filler into the resin film. The inorganic filler may be, for example, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, or silicon oxide. In addition, the substrate FS may be a single layer of ultra-thin glass with a thickness of less than 100 μm manufactured by a float process or the like, or a laminated body formed by bonding the above-mentioned resin film, foil, etc. to the ultra-thin glass. For example, a copper foil layer of a fixed thickness (several micrometers (μm)) can be uniformly formed on one surface of an extremely thin glass by vacuum evaporation or plating (electrolytic or electroless), and then the copper foil layer can be processed to form wiring or electrodes for electronic circuits.

The flexibility of the substrate FS refers to the property that the substrate FS will not break or fracture even when a force equal to its own weight is applied to the substrate FS, so that the substrate FS can be bent. Moreover, the property that the substrate bends due to the force equal to its own weight is also included in the flexibility. Moreover, the degree of flexibility varies with the material, size, thickness, layer structure of the film formed on the substrate FS, temperature, humidity and other environmental factors. In short, as long as the substrate FS can be smoothly transported without bending and creases, or damage (cracks or breaks) when it is neatly wound around various conveying direction changing components such as conveying rollers and rotating drums arranged on the conveying path of the component manufacturing system 10 of the first embodiment, it can be said to be within the range of flexibility.

The processing device PR1 is a processing device that performs base treatment on the substrate FS while transporting the substrate FS transported from the supply roller FR1 to the processing device PR2 at a predetermined speed in the transport direction along the long dimension direction. Examples of the base treatment include ultrasonic cleaning treatment and UV ozone cleaning treatment. In particular, by performing UV ozone cleaning treatment, organic contamination attached to the surface of the substrate FS can be removed, and the surface of the substrate FS can be modified to be lyophilic. As a result, the thin film formed by the following processing device PR2 has improved adhesion to the substrate FS. Furthermore, as a base treatment, plasma surface treatment can also be performed. By plasma surface treatment, organic contamination attached to the surface of the substrate FS can also be removed, and the surface of the substrate FS can be modified to be lyophilic.

The processing device PR2 is a processing device that performs film forming processing on the substrate FS while transporting the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR1 to the processing device PR3 at a predetermined speed in the transport direction along the long dimension direction (+X direction). The processing device PR2 generates a mist containing microparticles, and uses the generated mist to form a thin film on the substrate FS. In this first embodiment, metallic microparticles are used, so a metallic thin film (metallic thin film) is formed on the substrate FS. Furthermore, when organic microparticles or inorganic microparticles are used, an organic or inorganic thin film is formed on the substrate FS.

The processing device PR3 is a processing device that performs coating processing on the substrate FS while conveying the substrate FS conveyed from the processing device PR2 to the processing device PR4 at a predetermined speed in the conveying direction (+X direction) along the long dimension direction. The processing device PR3 applies a photosensitive functional liquid on the metal film of the substrate FS to form a photosensitive functional layer. In the first embodiment, a photoresist is used as the photosensitive functional liquid (layer).

The processing device (exposure device) PR4 transports the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR3 to the processing device PR5 at a predetermined speed in the transport direction (+X direction) along the long dimension direction, and performs exposure processing on the photosensitive surface (the surface of the photosensitive functional layer) of the substrate FS. The processing device PR4 exposes the substrate FS with a pattern corresponding to the wiring or electrode of the circuit for the display. In this way, a latent image (modified portion) corresponding to the pattern is formed on the photosensitive functional layer.

The processing device PR5 performs wet processing on the substrate FS while transferring the substrate FS transferred from the processing device PR4 to the processing device PR6 at a predetermined speed in the transfer direction (+X direction) along the long dimension direction. The processing device PR5 performs a developing process (including a cleaning process) as a wet process. Thereby, an anti-etching agent layer corresponding to the pattern formed as a latent image on the photosensitive functional layer is developed.

The processing device PR6 performs wet processing on the substrate FS while conveying the substrate FS conveyed from the processing device PR5 to the recovery roller FR2 at a predetermined speed in the conveying direction (+X direction) along the long dimension direction. The processing device PR6 performs etching processing (including cleaning processing) as wet processing. In this way, the etching processing is performed using the anti-etching agent layer as a mask, and a pattern corresponding to the wiring or electrode of the circuit used for the display appears on the metal film. The metal film formed with the pattern becomes a pattern layer constituting a flexible display as an electronic component. Furthermore, although the plurality of processing devices PR1 to PR6 each have a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate FS along the transport direction (+X direction), the transport mechanisms are controlled by the upper control device 12 to function as a substrate transport device for the entire device manufacturing system 10. In principle, the transport speed of the substrate FS in each processing device PR1 to PR6 is the same, but the transport speed of the substrate FS in each processing device PR1 to PR6 may be different depending on the processing state and processing status of each processing device PR1 to PR6.

The upper control device 12 controls each processing device PR1 to PR6, the supply roller FR1, and the recovery roller FR2 of the component manufacturing system 10. The upper control device 12 controls the rotation speed of the supply roller FR1 and the recovery roller FR2 by controlling the motors of the rotation drive sources (not shown) respectively provided in the supply roller FR1 and the recovery roller FR2. The processing devices PR1 to PR6 each include a lower control device 14 (14a to 14f), and the lower control devices 14a to 14f control each function (transport mechanism, processing unit, etc.) in the processing devices PR1 to PR6 under the control of the upper control device 12. The upper control device 12 and the lower control devices 14a to 14f include a computer and a storage medium storing a program. The upper control device 12 and the lower control devices 14a to 14f of the first embodiment function as the upper control device 12 and the lower control devices 14a to 14f by the computer executing the program stored in the storage medium. Furthermore, the lower control device 14 may be a part of the upper control device 12 or a control device separate from the upper control device 12.

[Configuration of processing device PR2] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of processing device (film forming device) PR2. Processing device PR2 includes mist generating devices MG1, MG2, gas supply unit (gas supply unit) SG, spray nozzles NZ1, NZ2, film forming chamber 22, substrate transport mechanism 24, and dry processing unit 26.

The mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 atomize the dispersion liquid (slurry) DIL containing the dispersoid (microparticles NP) as the film raw material for forming the film, and generate the atomized microparticle liquid, i.e., the mist MT. The particle size of the mist MT is 2 to 5 μm, and the microparticles NP of much smaller nanometer size are contained in the mist MT and released from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL. The microparticles NP can be microparticles containing at least one of metallic microparticles, organic microparticles, and inorganic microparticles. Therefore, the microparticles contained in the mist MT will contain at least one of metallic nanoparticles, organic nanoparticles, and inorganic nanoparticles. In this first embodiment, metallic ITO (indium tin oxide) particles are used as particles NP, and water (pure water) is used as a solvent (dispersion medium). Therefore, the dispersion liquid DIL is an aqueous dispersion liquid in which ITO particles NP are dispersed in water. The mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 generate mist MT using ultrasonic vibration. Furthermore, the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 are connected to a dispersion medium supply unit SW that supplies a dispersion medium (water) to the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 via a liquid flow path WT. The water from the dispersion medium supply unit SW is supplied to the following containers 30a and 30b (see FIG. 3 ) provided in each of the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2.

The mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 are connected to spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 via supply pipes ST1 and ST2. Furthermore, the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 are connected to a gas supply unit SG that generates a carrier gas as a compressed gas via a gas flow path GT, and the carrier gas generated by the gas supply unit SG is supplied to the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 at a predetermined flow rate via the gas flow path GT. The carrier gas supplied to the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 is released from the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 via the supply pipes ST1 and ST2. Thus, the mist MT generated by the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 is transported to the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 by the carrier gas and released from the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2. By changing the flow rate (NL/min) of the carrier gas supplied to the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2, the flow rate of the mist MT supplied to the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 can be changed. As the carrier gas, an inert gas such as nitrogen or a diluent gas can be used. In the first embodiment, nitrogen is used. Furthermore, the supply pipes ST1 and ST2 are bellows-shaped hoses, and the flow path can be bent arbitrarily.

The front end portions of the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 disposed on the downstream side of the supply pipes ST1 and ST2 are inserted into the film forming chamber 22. The spray gas MT supplied to the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 is sprayed together with the carrier gas from the spray ports OP1 and OP2 of the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2. In this way, in the film forming chamber 22, a metal thin film (functional material layer) of ITO can be formed on the surface of the substrate FS that is continuously transported on the -Z direction side of the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2. The film formation (film formation) can be performed under atmospheric pressure or under a predetermined pressure.

In the film forming chamber (film forming section, mist treatment section) 22, there is provided an exhaust section 22a for exhausting the gas in the film forming chamber 22 to the outside, and there is provided a supply section 22b for supplying the gas into the film forming chamber 22. The exhaust section 22a and the supply section 22b are provided on the wall of the film forming chamber 22. In the exhaust section 22a, there is provided a suction device (not shown) for sucking the gas. Thereby, the gas in the film forming chamber 22 can be sucked into the exhaust section 22a and discharged to the outside of the film forming chamber 22, and the gas can be sucked into the film forming chamber 22 from the supply section 22b. In addition, in the film forming chamber 22, there is provided an exhaust flow path 22c. The exhaust flow path 22c is used to discharge the thin film raw material or dispersion medium (water, etc.) that has not landed on the substrate FS to the drainage treatment device DR.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, as shown in International Publication No. 2015/159983, the exhaust port of the exhaust portion 22a is arranged on the opposite side (+Z direction side) of the spray ports OP1 and OP2 of the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 in the direction of gravity, and the substrate FS is conveyed in the processing device PR2 while being tilted relative to a plane orthogonal to gravity (a plane parallel to the XY plane). In this way, the film thickness of the formed thin film can be made uniform.

The substrate transport mechanism 24 constitutes a part of the substrate transport device of the device manufacturing system 10, and transports the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR1 to the processing device PR2 at a predetermined speed, and then sends it out to the processing device PR2 at a predetermined speed. The substrate FS is placed on a plurality of rollers of the substrate transport mechanism 24 for transport, and the transport path of the substrate FS transported in the processing device PR2 is determined. The substrate transport mechanism 24 is equipped with a roller NR1, guide rollers R1 to R3, a pneumatic steering rod AT1, a guide roller R4, a pneumatic steering rod AT2, a guide roller R5, a pneumatic steering rod AT3, a roller NR2, and a guide roller R6 in order from the upstream side (-X direction side) of the transport direction of the substrate FS. The film forming chamber 22 is provided between the guide rollers R1 and R2, and the guide rollers R2 to R6, the pneumatic steering rods AT1 to AT3, and the roller NR2 are arranged in the drying processing unit 26. Thus, the substrate FS having a thin film formed on the inner surface of the film forming chamber 22 is transferred to the drying processing unit 26. In order to tilt the substrate FS in the film forming chamber 22 for conveyance, the guide roller R2 is arranged on the +Z direction side relative to the guide roller R1, but the guide roller R2 may also be arranged on the -Z direction side relative to the guide roller R1.

Rollers NR1 and NR2 hold the front and back sides of substrate FS while rotating to transport substrate FS. The roller of each roller NR1 and NR2 that contacts the back side of substrate FS serves as a driving roller, and the roller that contacts the front side of substrate FS serves as a driven roller. The driven roller is configured to contact only the two end portions of the width direction (Y direction) of substrate FS, and is configured to avoid contact with the thin film forming area (device forming area) on the surface of substrate FS as much as possible. Pneumatic steering rods AT1 to AT3 support substrate FS from the film forming surface (surface with thin film formed) of the surface of substrate FS in a state of not contacting the film forming surface (or low friction state) by ejecting gas (air, etc.) from a plurality of fine ejection holes formed on the outer peripheral surface. The guide rollers R1 to R6 are arranged to rotate while being in contact with the surface (rear surface) of the substrate FS opposite to the film forming surface. The lower control device 14b shown in FIG1 controls the conveying speed of the substrate FS in the processing device PR2 by controlling the motor of the rotation drive source (not shown) provided on each driving roller of the rollers NR1 and NR2.

The drying unit 26 performs drying treatment on the substrate FS after film formation. The drying unit 26 removes the dispersion medium (solvent) such as water contained on the surface of the substrate FS by using a blower, an infrared light source, a ceramic heater, etc., which blows dry air or other drying air (warm air) to the surface of the substrate FS, thereby drying the formed metallic thin film. In addition, the drying unit 26 functions as a storage unit (buffer) that can store substrates FS of a predetermined length. In this way, even if the conveying speed of the substrate FS transferred from the processing device PR1 and the conveying speed of the substrate FS transferred to the processing device PR3 are different, the speed difference can be absorbed by the drying unit 26. The drying unit 26 can be mainly divided into a drying unit 26a and a storage unit 26b. The drying section 26a dries the thin film formed on the surface of the substrate FS as described above, and dries the thin film between the guide rollers R2 and R3. Moreover, the storage length of the storage section 26b varies between the guide rollers R3 and the rollers NR2. In the storage section 26b, in order to extend the predetermined length (maximum storage length) of the substrate FS that can be stored, the guide rollers R3 to R5 and the rollers NR2 are arranged on the +X direction side relative to the pneumatic steering rods AT1 to AT3, thereby making the conveying path of the substrate FS meander and conveying the substrate FS along the -Z direction.

The pneumatic steering rods AT1 to AT3 are configured to turn the substrate FS transported along the -X direction back to the +X direction, and are configured to be movable along the ±X direction within a predetermined stroke range. Moreover, the pneumatic steering rods AT1 to AT3 are always powered by a predetermined force (tension) to displace laterally in the -X direction. Thus, the pneumatic steering rods AT1 to AT3 move along the X direction (+X direction or -X direction) according to the change in the storage length of the substrate FS in the drying process unit 26; the change in the storage length is due to the difference in the transport speed of the substrate FS entering and exiting the drying process unit 26, specifically, the difference in the transport speed of the substrate FS in the respective positions of the two rollers NR1 and NR2. Thereby, the drying processing unit 26 can store the substrate FS of a predetermined length while applying a predetermined tension to the substrate FS.

Next, the specific structure of the mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 is described. The mist generating devices MG1 and MG2 have the same structure, so only the mist generating device MG1 is described. FIG3 is a diagram showing the structure of the mist generating device MG1. The mist generating device MG1 has containers 30a and 30b. The containers 30a and 30b are used to hold the dispersion DIL. The dispersion DIL is a solution to which a surfactant for suppressing the aggregation of the microparticles NP is not added, that is, a dispersion in which the content of the chemical component as the surfactant is substantially zero. Vibrating parts 32a and 34a are provided in the container 30a, and a vibrating part 34b is provided in the container 30b. The vibration parts 32a, 34a, and 34b include ultrasonic vibrators to impart ultrasonic vibrations to the dispersion liquid DIL. In addition, for convenience, the dispersion liquid (first dispersion liquid) DIL held by the container 30a is sometimes represented as DIL1, and the dispersion liquid (second dispersion liquid) DIL held by the container 30b is sometimes represented as DIL2.

Here, the microparticles NP will aggregate in the dispersion liquid DIL as time goes by. In addition, there are also situations where the microparticles NP do not diffuse at all in the dispersion liquid DIL. Therefore, the vibration part (first vibration part) 32a gives the dispersion liquid (particle dispersion liquid) DIL1 in the container 30a a vibration of the first frequency in order to crush (disperse) the aggregated microparticles NP and suppress the aggregation of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL1. Thereby, the microparticles NP diffuse in the dispersion liquid DIL1. Generally speaking, with regard to ultrasonic vibration, the higher the frequency, the higher the energy, but in a liquid, corresponding to the high energy, the liquid will absorb it, so that the vibration cannot diffuse over a large range. Therefore, in order to efficiently disperse the aggregated microparticles NP, it is better to use a relatively low frequency. For example, when the solvent is water, the first frequency is a frequency lower than 1 MHz, preferably lower than 200 kHz. In the first embodiment, an aqueous dispersion (particle dispersion) DIL1 containing ITO microparticles NP is used, and the first frequency is set to 20 kHz. The diameter of the ITO microparticles NP crushed by the vibration of the vibration part 32a varies, and can be large or small. By providing the vibration part 32a, it is not necessary to add a surfactant to the dispersion DIL1 to suppress the aggregation of the microparticles NP.

The vibration part (second vibration part) 34a generates mist MT (hereinafter sometimes referred to as MTa) atomized from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL1, and gives the second frequency to the dispersion liquid DIL1 in the container 30a. At a relatively high frequency, the liquid is atomized by cavitation and is continuously released from the surface of the liquid into the atmosphere. For example, when the solvent is water, the second frequency is a frequency of 1 MHz or more. In this first embodiment, the second frequency is set to 2.4 MHz. The diameter (particle size) of the mist MTa atomized by the vibration of the vibration part 34a is, for example, 2 μm to 5 μm. The ITO microparticles (nanoparticles) NP with much smaller particle sizes are contained in the mist MTa and released from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL1 in the container 30a. That is, the relatively large ITO microparticles NP will directly remain in the dispersion liquid DIL1. Furthermore, the microparticles (nanoparticles) NP contained in a particle of mist MT (diameter of 2 to 5 μm) do not need to be uniformly dispersed particle by particle, and can also be a mass formed by agglomeration of several to dozens of particles. For example, when the size of a microparticle NP is several nanometers (nm) to tens of nanometers, even if about 10 microparticles NP form a mass and agglomerate, the size of the mass is only tens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers, which is very small compared to the size of a mist MT, and will be included in the mist MT during atomization. Therefore, the so-called suppression of the agglomeration of microparticles (nanoparticles) NP in the dispersion liquid DIL by the vibration part 32a is not limited to the degree that the microparticles (nanoparticles) NP must be dispersed to a unit of one particle, as long as the vibration part 32a disperses it to a degree that although there is a mass formed by the agglomeration of microparticles (nanoparticles) NP, the size of the mass is very small compared to the size of the mist MT.

The container 30a is connected to the container path 36a, and the mist MTa generated in the container 30a is transported to the container 30b by the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply unit SG. That is, the treated gas MPa formed by the mixture of the carrier gas and the mist MTa is transported to the container 30b. Furthermore, a funnel-shaped mist collecting component 38a is provided in the container 30a, and the mist MTa generated by atomization is collected by the mist collecting component 38a and then transported to the mist transport flow path 36a.

The container 30b holds the dispersion (nanoparticle dispersion) DIL2 formed by liquefying the mist MTa transported by the carrier gas. That is, the liquefied mist MTa transported to the container 30b is stored in the container 30b as the dispersion DIL2. The microparticles NP in the dispersion DIL2 in the container 30b become microparticles (nanoparticles) NP with a particle size much smaller than the diameter of the mist MT (for example, 2 μm to 5 μm). The vibration part (the fourth vibration part) 34b provided in the container 30b gives the dispersion (nanoparticle dispersion) DIL2 in the container 30b a vibration of the second frequency (2.4 MHz in the first embodiment). Thus, mist MT (hereinafter sometimes referred to as MTb) is generated from the surface of the dispersion liquid (nanoparticle dispersion liquid) DIL2, which is atomized again. Therefore, the ITO microparticles (nanoparticles) NP in the dispersion liquid DIL2 are also contained in the mist MTb and released from the surface of the dispersion liquid in the container 30b.

Furthermore, the microparticles NP will slowly aggregate after a certain period of time, so even if the first frequency vibration is stopped, the aggregation will not start immediately. However, when the container 30b needs to keep the dispersion (nanoparticle dispersion) DIL2 for a fixed time or more, the container 30b can also be provided with a vibration part (third vibration part) 32b (shown by a single-point chain diagram) that imparts the first frequency vibration to the dispersion DIL2. In this way, the aggregation of the nanoparticles, i.e., microparticles NP in the dispersion (nanoparticle dispersion) DIL2 in the container 30b can be suppressed. Furthermore, ultrasonic vibration can be intermittently imparted to the dispersion DIL by the vibration parts 32a and 32b at predetermined intervals.

The container 30b and the supply pipe ST1 are connected by the mist transport flow path 36b, and the mist MTa transported into the container 30b and the mist MTb generated in the container 30b are transported to the supply pipe ST1 by the carrier gas supplied into the container 30b. That is, the processing gas MPb formed by the mixture of the mists MTa and MTb existing in the container 30b and the carrier gas is transported to the supply pipe ST1 through the mist transport flow path 36b. Thereby, the mists MTa and MTb existing in the container 30b are sprayed from the spray port OP1 of the spray nozzle NZ1. That is, the processing gas MPb is sprayed from the spray nozzle NZ1. A mist collecting member 38b is provided in the container 30b, and the mists MTa and MTb in the container 30b are collected by the mist collecting member 38b and transported to the mist transport flow path 36b. Furthermore, in the case of the mist generating device MG2, the container 30b is connected to the supply pipe ST2 via the mist transport flow path 36b, and the mists MTa and MTb in the container 30b are transported to the supply pipe ST2 by the carrier gas supplied from the gas supply unit SG. Thereby, the mist MTa transported into the container 30b and the mist MTb generated in the container 30b are sprayed from the spray port OP2 of the spray nozzle NZ2.

In the container 30a, a dispersion medium supply section DD is provided to supply ITO microparticles NP as a dispersion medium into the container 30a. Thus, the dispersion medium (water) supplied into the container 30a from the dispersion medium supply section SW (refer to FIG. 2) and the dispersion medium (microparticles NP) supplied from the dispersion medium supply section DD generate the dispersion liquid DIL1 stored in the container 30a, and the concentration of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL1 is adjusted. Although there is a case where the microparticles NP in the generated dispersion liquid DIL are not dispersed, they can be dispersed by the vibration of the vibration section 32a. In addition, the concentration of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL2 in the container 30b is adjusted by the dispersion medium supply section SW. The containers 30a and 30b are provided with coolers CO1 and CO2 for cooling the dispersion liquid DIL to promote atomization. The coolers CO1 and CO2 are composed of, for example, annular tubes wound around the outer circumference of the containers 30a and 30b, and the dispersion liquids DIL1 and DIL2 can be cooled by passing cooled air or liquid into the tubes.

Concentration sensors SC1 and SC2 are provided in the mist transport flow paths 36a and 36b. The concentration sensor SC1 detects the concentration of microparticles (nanoparticles) NP contained in the processing gas MPa in the mist transport flow path 36a, and the concentration sensor SC2 detects the concentration of microparticles (nanoparticles) NP contained in the processing gas MPb in the mist transport flow path 36b. The concentration sensors SC1 and SC2 detect the concentration of microparticles NP by measuring the absorbance of the processing gases MPa and MPb. For example, a spectrophotometer can be used as the concentration sensors SC1 and SC2. Furthermore, concentration sensors SC1 and SC2 may be disposed in containers 30a and 30b to detect the concentration of the microparticles NP in the dispersions DIL1 and DIL2 in the containers 30a and 30b.

The lower control device 14b controls the concentration of the microparticles (nanoparticles) NP in the mist transport flow paths 36a and 36b or the concentration of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquids DIL1 and DIL2 to a predetermined concentration based on the concentration of the microparticles (nanoparticles) NP detected by the concentration sensors SC1 and SC2. Specifically, the lower control device 14b controls the concentration of the microparticles (nanoparticles) NP by controlling the flow rate of the carrier gas supplied by the gas supply unit SG, the flow rate of the water supplied by the dispersion medium supply unit SW, the amount of the microparticles NP supplied by the dispersion medium supply unit DD, and the vibration units 32a, 34a, and 34b.

Furthermore, depending on the type of microparticles NP to be film-formed, there is a case where the carrier gas supplied to the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 is desired to be a mixed gas. Therefore, in view of this situation, a mixing section MX is provided at the connection portion between the spray transport flow path 36b and the supply pipe ST1 (ST2), and an inert gas different from the compressed gas (for example, nitrogen) supplied to the containers 30a and 30b, such as a compressed gas of argon, is supplied to the mixing section MX. In this way, the carrier gas supplied to the supply pipe ST1 (ST2) can be a mixed gas of nitrogen and argon.

The mist MTa generated in the container 30a is transferred to the container 30b, or the mist MTa generated in the container 30a is directly supplied to the film forming chamber (mist treatment section, film forming section) 22 via the spray nozzle NZ1 (NZ2). In this case, it is not necessary to provide the container 30b and the mist transfer flow path 36b, and it is sufficient to connect the mist transfer flow path 36a to the supply pipe ST1 (ST2).

[Configuration of processing device PR3] Figure 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of processing device (coating device) PR3. Processing device PR3 includes substrate transport mechanism 42, coating head DCH, alignment microscope AMm (AM1 to AM3), and drying processing unit 44.

The substrate transport mechanism 42 constitutes a part of the substrate transport device of the device manufacturing system 10, and transports the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR2 to the processing device PR3 at a predetermined speed, and then sends it to the processing device PR4 at a predetermined speed. By placing the substrate FS on the rollers of the substrate transport mechanism 42 for transport, the transport path of the substrate FS transported in the processing device PR3 is determined. The substrate transport mechanism 42 includes a roller NR11, a tension adjustment roller RT11, a rotating drum DR1, a guide roller R11, a pneumatic steering rod AT11, a guide roller R12, a pneumatic steering rod AT12, a guide roller R13, a pneumatic steering rod AT13, a guide roller R14, a pneumatic steering rod AT14, and a roller NR12 in order from the upstream side (-X direction side) in the transport direction of the substrate FS. The guide rollers R11-R14 and the pneumatic steering rods AT11-AT14 are arranged in the drying processing section 44.

Rollers NR11 and NR12 are composed of drive rollers and driven rollers of the same structure as rollers NR1 and NR2 in FIG. 3 , and they hold the front and back sides of the substrate FS while rotating to transport the substrate FS. Drum DR1 has a central axis AXo1 extending in the Y direction and in a direction intersecting the gravity direction, and a cylindrical outer peripheral surface with a fixed radius from the central axis AXo1. Drum DR1 imitates the outer peripheral surface (cylindrical surface) to bend and support a part of the substrate FS in the long dimension direction, and rotates around the central axis AXo1 to move the substrate FS in the transport direction (+X direction). Drum DR1 supports the substrate FS from the side of the substrate FS that is opposite to the coating surface (rear side). The tension adjustment roller RT11 is energized in the -Z direction, and a predetermined tension is applied to the substrate FS wound and supported on the drum DR1 in the long dimension direction. In this way, the tension applied to the substrate FS wound on the drum DR1 in the long dimension direction is stably within a predetermined range. The tension adjustment roller RT11 is configured to rotate while contacting the coating surface of the substrate FS. The pneumatic steering rods AT11 to AT14 support the substrate FS from the coating surface side of the substrate FS in a state of not contacting the coating surface (or in a low friction state). The guide rollers R11 to R14 are configured to rotate while contacting the reverse side of the substrate FS. The lower control device 14c shown in FIG. 1 controls the conveying speed of the substrate FS in the processing device PR3 by controlling the motors of the rotation drive sources (not shown) provided in the rollers NR11, NR12 and the drum DR1.

The alignment microscopes AMm (AM1 to AM3) are used to detect the alignment marks MKm (MK1 to MK3) formed on the substrate FS (see FIG. 6 ), and three of them are provided along the Y direction. The alignment microscopes AMm (AM1 to AM3) photograph the marks MKm (MK1 to MK3) on the substrate FS supported by the circumferential surface of the rotating drum DR1.

The alignment microscope AMm has a light source for projecting illumination light for alignment onto the substrate FS, and an imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS for capturing the reflected light. The alignment microscope AM1 captures the mark MK1 that exists in the observation area (detection area) and is formed at the end of the substrate FS in the +Y direction. The alignment microscope AM2 captures the mark MK2 that exists in the observation area and is formed at the end of the substrate FS in the -Y direction. The alignment microscope AM3 captures the mark MK3 that exists in the observation area and is formed in the center of the width direction of the substrate FS. The imaging signals captured by the alignment microscopes AMm (AM1 to AM3) are transmitted to the lower control device 14c. The lower control device 14c detects the position information of the mark MKm (MK1~MK3) on the substrate FS based on the imaging signal. Furthermore, the illumination light used for alignment is light of a wavelength region that is almost insensitive to the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate FS, for example, light of a wavelength of about 500~800 nm. The size of the observation area of the alignment microscope AMm is set according to the size of the mark MK1~MK3 and the alignment accuracy (position measurement accuracy), and is about 100~500 μm square. The alignment microscope AMm (AM1~AM3) has the same structure as the alignment microscope AMm (AM1~AM3) described below.

The die coating head DCH uniformly coats the substrate FS supported by the circumferential surface of the drum DR1 with the photosensitive functional liquid over a wide range. The length of the slit-shaped opening of the die coating head DCH for spraying the coating liquid (photosensitive functional liquid) onto the substrate FS in the Y direction is set shorter than the dimension in the width direction of the substrate FS. Therefore, the coating liquid will not be coated on both ends in the width direction of the substrate FS. The die coating head DCH is set on the downstream side (+X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the alignment microscope AMm (AM1~AM3). The die coating head DCH applies the photosensitive functional liquid to at least the formation area of the electronic components on the substrate FS on which the exposure pattern is drawn by the processing device PR4 described below, that is, the exposure area W (refer to FIG. 6 ). The lower control device 14c controls the die coating head DCH to apply the photosensitive functional liquid on the substrate FS based on the position of the mark MKm (MK1 to MK3) detected by the alignment microscope AMm (AM1 to AM3) on the substrate FS.

Here, the processing device PR3 has an encoder system that is the same as the encoder system ES described below. That is, it has a pair of ruler parts (disc rulers) arranged at both ends of the rotating drum DR1, and multiple pairs of encoder heads arranged opposite to the ruler parts. A pair of encoder heads is arranged in the XZ plane on the setting azimuth line Lg1 passing through the center axis AXo1 of the rotating drum DR1 and the observation area of the alignment microscope AMm (AM1~AM3). In addition, another pair of encoder heads is arranged in the XZ plane on the setting azimuth line Lg2 passing through the center axis AXo1 of the rotating drum DR1 and the coating position (processing position) of the mold coating head DCH on the substrate FS. By setting up such an encoder system, the position of the mark MKm on the substrate FS can be made to correspond to the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR1. Moreover, based on the detection signals detected by multiple pairs of encoder heads, the position of the mark MKm (MK1~MK3) and the positional relationship between the exposure area (component formation area) W on the substrate FS and the coating position (processing position) in the conveying direction (X direction) can be determined.

Furthermore, the processing device PR3 may also have an inkjet head instead of the die coating head DCH, or may have both the die coating head DCH and the inkjet head. The inkjet head can selectively coat the photosensitive functional liquid on the substrate FS. Therefore, the measurement resolution of the encoder system for measuring the rotation angle position of the drum DR1 is set according to the positioning accuracy of the selective coating of the photosensitive functional liquid in the processing device PR3.

The drying treatment section 44 performs drying treatment on the substrate FS coated with the photosensitive functional liquid by the die coating head DCH. The drying treatment section 44 removes the solute (solvent or water) contained in the photosensitive functional liquid by blowing dry air or other drying air (warm air) to the surface of the substrate FS, an infrared light source, or a ceramic heater, etc., to dry the photosensitive functional liquid. In this way, a photosensitive functional layer is formed. The guide rollers R11 to R14 and the pneumatic steering rods AT11 to AT14 provided in the drying treatment section 44 are arranged in a manner to extend the conveying path of the substrate FS and form a serpentine conveying path. In the first embodiment, the guide rollers R11 to R14 are arranged on the +X direction side relative to the pneumatic steering rods AT11 to AT14, so that the conveying path of the substrate FS is meandered and the substrate FS is conveyed along the -Z direction. By extending the conveying path, the photosensitive functional liquid can be effectively dried.

Furthermore, the dry processing section 44 functions as a storage section (buffer) capable of storing substrates FS of a predetermined length. Thus, even when the transport speed of the substrate FS transferred from the processing device PR2 and the transport speed of the substrate FS transferred to the processing device PR4 are different, the speed difference can be absorbed by the dry processing section 44. In order to make the dry processing section 44 also function as a storage section, the pneumatic steering rods AT11 to AT14 can be moved in the X direction and are always energized in the -X direction with a fixed force (tension). Therefore, the pneumatic steering rods AT11-AT14 move along the X direction (+X direction or -X direction) according to the change of the storage length of the substrate FS in the dry processing section 44. The change of the storage length is caused by the difference in the conveying speed of the substrate FS entering and exiting the dry processing section 44 (or the processing device PR3), specifically, the difference between the speed of conveying the substrate FS by the rotation of the drum DR1 (or the rotation drive of the roller NR11) and the speed of conveying the substrate FS by the rotation drive of the roller NR12. In this way, the dry processing section 44 can store a predetermined length of the substrate FS under a predetermined tension applied to the substrate FS. Furthermore, by extending the conveying path of the substrate FS in a winding manner, the predetermined length (maximum storage length) that can be stored in the drying processing section 44 can also be extended.

[Structure of processing device PR4] Figure 5 is a diagram showing the structure of processing device (exposure device) PR4. Processing device PR4 is an exposure device of direct drawing method without using a mask, that is, a pattern drawing device of the so-called grating scanning method. As will be described in detail later, processing device PR4 transports substrate FS along the long dimension direction (sub-scanning direction) while scanning (main scanning) the light spot SP of the pulse-shaped beam LB for exposure one-dimensionally along the predetermined scanning direction (Y direction) on the irradiated surface (photosensitive surface) of substrate FS, and modulates (turns on/off) the intensity of light spot SP at high speed according to pattern data (drawing data). In this way, the corresponding light pattern of the predetermined pattern corresponding to the circuit structure of the electronic component is drawn on the irradiated surface of substrate FS. That is, by the secondary scanning of the substrate FS and the main scanning of the light spot SP, the light spot SP is relatively two-dimensionally scanned on the irradiated surface of the substrate FS, and a predetermined pattern is drawn and exposed on the substrate FS. In addition, the substrate FS is continuously transported along the long dimension direction, so the exposure area W of the exposed pattern is set at multiple locations along the long dimension direction of the substrate FS at predetermined intervals Td by the processing device PR4 (refer to Figure 6). Since the exposure area W forms an electronic component, the exposure area W is also a component formation area.

The processing device PR4 further includes a substrate transport mechanism 52, a post-exposure baking processing unit 54, a light source device 56, a beam distribution optical component 58, an exposure head 60, an alignment microscope AMm (AM1 to AM3), and an encoder system ES. The substrate transport mechanism 52, the post-exposure baking processing unit 54, the light source device 56, the beam distribution optical component 58, the exposure head 60, and the alignment microscope AMm (AM1 to AM3) are arranged in a temperature control chamber not shown. The temperature control chamber suppresses the phenomenon that the substrate FS transported inside changes in shape due to temperature by maintaining the inside at a predetermined temperature, and sets the humidity inside to a humidity that takes into account factors such as the hygroscopicity of the substrate FS and the electrostatic charging generated during the transport.

The substrate transport mechanism 52 constitutes a part of the substrate transport device of the device manufacturing system 10, and transports the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR3 to the processing device PR4 at a predetermined speed, and then sends it to the processing device PR5 at a predetermined speed. By placing the substrate FS on the rollers of the substrate transport mechanism 52 for transport, the transport path of the substrate FS transported in the processing device PR4 is determined. The substrate transport mechanism 52 is equipped with a roller NR21, a tension adjustment roller RT21, a rotating drum DR2, a tension adjustment roller RT22, a roller NR22, a pneumatic steering rod AT21, a guide roller R21, a pneumatic steering rod AT22, and a roller NR23 in order from the upstream side (-X direction side) of the transport direction of the substrate FS. Rollers NR22 and NR23, pneumatic steering rods AT21 and AT22, and guide roller R21 are disposed in the post-exposure baking processing section 54.

Rollers NR21 to NR23 are composed of the same driving rollers and driven rollers as the rollers NR1 and NR2 described previously, and they hold the front and back sides of the substrate FS while rotating to transport the substrate FS. Drum DR2 has the same structure as drum DR1, and has a center axis AXo2 extending in the Y direction and intersecting the direction of gravity, and a cylindrical outer peripheral surface with a fixed radius from the center axis AXo2. Drum DR2 imitates the outer peripheral surface (cylindrical surface) to bend and support a part of the substrate FS in the long dimension direction, and rotates around the center axis AXo2 to move the substrate FS in the transport direction (+X direction). Drum DR2 supports the substrate FS from the side of the substrate FS that is opposite to the photosensitive surface (rear side). The tension adjustment rollers RT21 and RT22 are energized in the -Z direction, and a predetermined tension is applied to the substrate FS wound and supported on the drum DR2 in the long dimension direction. In this way, the tension applied to the substrate FS wound on the drum DR2 in the long dimension direction is stably within a predetermined range. The tension adjustment rollers RT21 and RT22 are arranged to rotate while contacting the photosensitive surface of the substrate FS, and the outer peripheral surface is coated with an elastic body (rubber sheet, resin sheet, etc.) that makes the photosensitive surface of the substrate FS less susceptible to damage. The pneumatic steering rods AT21 and AT22 support the substrate FS from the photosensitive surface side of the substrate FS in a state of not contacting the photosensitive surface (or in a low friction state). The guide roller R21 is configured to rotate while being in contact with the back surface of the substrate FS. The lower control device 14d shown in FIG1 controls the conveying speed of the substrate FS in the processing device PR4 by controlling the motor of the rotation drive source (not shown) provided in each of the rollers NR21 to NR23 and the drum DR2. Furthermore, for convenience, the plane including the center axis AXo2 and parallel to the YZ plane is called the center plane Poc.

The post-exposure baking processing section 54 performs post-exposure baking (PEB; Post Exposure Bake) on the substrate FS that has been exposed by the exposure head 60 described below. The rollers NR22, NR23, pneumatic steering rods AT21, AT22, and guide roller R21 provided in the post-exposure baking processing section 54 are arranged in a manner to extend the conveying path of the substrate FS and make it a winding conveying path. In this first embodiment, the rollers NR22, NR23 and guide roller R21 are arranged on the +Z direction side relative to the pneumatic steering rods AT21, AT22, so that the conveying path of the substrate FS is winding and the substrate FS is conveyed along the +X direction. By extending the conveying path, post-exposure baking can be effectively performed.

Furthermore, the post-exposure baking processing section 54 functions as a storage section (buffer) capable of storing substrates FS of a predetermined length. Thus, even when the transport speed of the substrate FS transferred from the processing device PR3 and the transport speed of the substrate FS transferred to the processing device PR5 are different, the speed difference can be absorbed by the post-exposure baking processing section 54. In order to make the post-exposure baking processing section 54 also function as a storage section, the pneumatic steering rods AT21 and AT22 can move in the Z direction and are always energized in the -Z direction with a predetermined force (tension). Therefore, the pneumatic steering rods AT21 and AT22 move along the Z direction (+Z direction or -Z direction) according to the change of the storage length of the substrate FS in the post-exposure baking processing section 54; the change of the storage length is caused by the difference in the conveying speed of the substrate FS entering and leaving the post-exposure baking processing section 54. In this way, the post-exposure baking processing section 54 can store a predetermined length of the substrate FS under the state of applying a predetermined tension to the substrate FS. Furthermore, by extending the conveying path of the substrate FS in a winding manner, the predetermined length (maximum storage length) that can be stored in the post-exposure baking processing section 54 can also be extended.

The light source device (light source) 56 generates and emits a pulsed beam (pulsed beam, pulsed light, laser) LB. The beam LB is ultraviolet light having a peak wavelength at a predetermined wavelength (e.g., 355 nm) in a wavelength band below 370 nm, and emits light at a light emission frequency (oscillation frequency) Fa. The beam LB emitted by the light source device 56 is incident on the exposure head 60 via the beam distribution optical component 58. The light source device 56 may also be an optical fiber amplifier laser light source device that can emit a high-brightness beam LB at a high light emission frequency Fa in the ultraviolet wavelength region. The fiber amplifier laser light source device is composed of the following components: a semiconductor laser that can emit pulsed light in the infrared wavelength region at a high emission frequency Fa of more than 100 MHz; an optical fiber amplifier that amplifies the pulsed light in the infrared wavelength region; and a wavelength conversion element (high-order harmonic generation element) that converts the amplified pulsed light in the infrared wavelength region into pulsed light in the ultraviolet wavelength region. The pulse light in the infrared wavelength region from the semiconductor laser is also called seed light. By changing the emission characteristics of the seed light (pulse duration, rise and fall rapidity, etc.), the amplification efficiency (amplification rate) of the optical fiber amplifier can be changed, and the intensity of the final output ultraviolet wavelength region beam LB can be modulated at high speed. In addition, the ultraviolet wavelength region beam LB output from the optical fiber amplifier laser light source device can shorten its emission duration to a very short time, even to a few picoseconds to tens of picoseconds. Therefore, even in the case of exposure by grating scanning, the light spot SP of the beam LB projected on the irradiated surface (photosensitive surface) of the substrate FS also maintains the shape and intensity distribution of the light spot SP of the beam LB in the cross section almost without deviation (for example, a circular Gaussian distribution). The structure formed by combining such a fiber amplifier laser light source device and a direct drawing pattern drawing device is disclosed in, for example, International Publication No. 2015/166910.

The exposure head 60 is a so-called multi-beam type exposure head in which a plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) of the same structure are arranged. The exposure head 60 draws a pattern on a portion of the substrate FS supported by the outer peripheral surface (circumferential surface) of the rotating drum DR2 by means of a plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6). Each scanning unit Un (U1 to U6) projects the beam LB from the light source device 56 onto the irradiated surface of the substrate FS in a manner of converging into a light spot SP, and scans the light spot SP one-dimensionally along the main scanning direction (Y direction). The scanning unit Un includes: a polygonal mirror PM for deflecting the beam LB; and an Fθ lens FT for projecting the light spot SP of the beam LB deflected by the rotating polygonal mirror PM onto the irradiated surface of the substrate FS in a telecentric state. By scanning the light spot SP, a linear drawing line SLn (SL1-SL6) is defined on the substrate FS (on the irradiated surface of the substrate FS) to draw a line pattern. The drawing line SLn (SL1-SL6) is a scanning line representing the scanning trajectory of the light spot SP scanned by each scanning unit Un (U1-U6). Furthermore, for convenience, the beam LB from the light source device 56 incident on the scanning unit Un (U1-U6) is sometimes represented as LBn (LB1-LB6).

As shown in FIG6 , the plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) are arranged so that the plurality of drawing lines SLn (SL1 to SL6) are connected to each other in the Y direction without being separated from each other. That is, each scanning unit Un (U1 to U6) is divided into a scanning area in such a manner that the plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) covers the entire width direction of the exposure area W. In this way, each scanning unit Un (U1 to U6) can draw a pattern one by one for each of the plurality of areas divided along the width direction of the substrate FS. For example, if the scanning length of one scanning unit Un in the Y direction (the length of the drawing line SLn) is set to about 20 to 50 mm, then by arranging a total of six scanning units Un, namely, three odd-numbered scanning units U1, U3, U5, and three even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, U6, in the Y direction, the width of the drawing in the Y direction can be expanded to about 120 to 300 mm. The lengths of the drawing lines SL1 to SL6 are the same in principle. That is, the scanning distances of the light spots SP of the beams LBn (LB1 to LB6) scanning along the drawing lines SL1 to SL6 are the same in principle. Furthermore, when it is desired to extend the width of the exposure area W, this can be achieved by extending the length of the drawing line SLn itself or increasing the number of scanning units Un arranged in the Y direction.

A plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) are arranged in two rows in a saw-tooth arrangement along the circumferential direction of the rotating drum DR2 with a plurality of drawing lines SLn (SL1 to SL6) sandwiching the center plane Poc. The plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) are arranged in two rows in a saw-tooth arrangement along the circumferential direction of the rotating drum DR2 with a plurality of drawing lines SLn (SL1 to SL6) sandwiching the center plane Poc. The odd-numbered scanning units U1, U3, and U5 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the Y direction on the upstream side (-X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc. The even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, and U6 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the Y direction on the downstream side (+X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc. Therefore, the odd-numbered drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 are arranged on a straight line at predetermined intervals along the Y direction and on the upstream side (-X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc. The even-numbered drawing lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 are arranged on a straight line at predetermined intervals along the Y direction and on the downstream side (+X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc.

At this time, the drawing line SL2 is arranged between the drawing line SL1 and the drawing line SL3 in the width direction of the substrate FS. Similarly, the drawing line SL3 is arranged between the drawing line SL2 and the drawing line SL4 in the width direction of the substrate FS. The drawing line SL4 is arranged between the drawing line SL3 and the drawing line SL5 in the width direction of the substrate FS, and the drawing line SL5 is arranged between the drawing line SL4 and the drawing line SL6 in the width direction of the substrate FS. In this first embodiment, the scanning direction of the light spot SP of the beam LBn scanned along the drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 is set to the -Y direction, and the scanning direction of the light spot SP of the beam LBn scanned along the drawing lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 is set to the +Y direction. Thus, the end portions of the drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 on the drawing start point side are adjacent to or partially overlapped with the end portions of the drawing lines SL2, SL4, and SL6 on the drawing start point side in the Y direction. Furthermore, the end portions of the drawing lines SL3 and SL5 on the drawing end point side are adjacent to or partially overlapped with the end portions of the drawing end point side in the Y direction. When each drawing line SLn is arranged so that the end portions of the drawing lines SLn adjacent to each other in the Y direction partially overlap each other, for example, the length of each drawing line SLn can be made to overlap within a range of less than a few percent of the scanning length in the Y direction including the drawing start point or the drawing end point. Furthermore, connecting the drawing lines SLn in the Y direction means that the ends of the drawing lines SLn are adjacent to or partially overlap each other in the Y direction.

In the case of the first embodiment, the beam LB from the light source device 56 is a pulsed light, so the light spot SP projected onto the drawing line SLn during the main scanning period is discrete corresponding to the oscillation frequency Fa (e.g., 100 MHz) of the beam LB. Therefore, it is necessary to make the light spot SP projected by one pulse of the beam LB overlap with the light spot SP projected by the next pulse of the beam LB in the main scanning direction. The amount of overlap is determined according to the size of the light spot SP. , the scanning speed of the light spot SP (the speed of the main scan), and the oscillation frequency Fa of the beam LB. When the intensity distribution of the light spot SP is close to the Gaussian distribution, the effective size of the light spot SP is It is determined by 1/e ² (or 1/2) of the peak intensity of the light spot SP. In the first embodiment, the effective size (size) , ×1/2 overlap of the light spot SP, set the scanning speed Vs and oscillation frequency Fa of the light spot SP. Thus, the projection interval of the light spot SP along the main scanning direction becomes /2. Therefore, in the sub-scanning direction (the direction orthogonal to the drawing line SLn), it is also desired that the effective size of the substrate FS moving the light spot SP between the first scan and the next scan of the light spot SP along the drawing line SLn is Furthermore, the scanning speed of the light spot SP is determined by the rotation speed of the polygon mirror PM.

Each scanning unit Un (U1-U6) emits each beam LBn toward the substrate FS in such a manner that each beam LBn advances toward the center axis AXo2 of the rotating drum DR2 at least in the XZ plane. Thus, the optical path (beam center axis) of the beam LBn advancing from each scanning unit Un (U1-U6) toward the substrate FS is parallel to the normal of the irradiated surface of the substrate FS in the XZ plane. In addition, each scanning unit Un (U1-U6) irradiates the beam LBn toward the substrate FS in such a manner that the beam LBn irradiated toward the drawing line SLn (SL1-SL6) is perpendicular to the irradiated surface of the substrate FS in a plane parallel to the YZ plane. That is, in the main scanning direction of the light spot SP on the irradiated surface, the beam LBn (LB1-LB6) projected onto the substrate FS is scanned in a telecentric state. Here, the light axis of the beam LB irradiated from each scanning unit Un (U1 to U6) to an arbitrary point (e.g., the midpoint) on the drawing line SLn (SL1 to SL6) is set as the irradiation axis Len (Le1 to Le6). Each irradiation axis Le (Le1 to Le6) becomes a line connecting the drawing line SLn (SL1 to SL6) and the center axis AXo2 in the XZ plane.

The irradiation axes Le1, Le3, Le5 of the odd-numbered scanning units U1, U3, U5 are in the same direction in the XZ plane, and the irradiation axes Le2, Le4, Le6 of the even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, U6 are in the same direction in the XZ plane. In addition, the irradiation axes Le1, Le3, Le5 and the irradiation axes Le2, Le4, Le6 are set to be ±θ1 at an angle relative to the center plane Poc in the XZ plane.

The beam distribution optical component 58 guides the beam LB from the light source device 56 to the plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6). The beam distribution optical component 58 has a plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) corresponding to each of the plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6). The beam distribution optical system BDU1 guides the beam LB (LB1) from the light source device 56 to the scanning unit U1, and similarly, the beam distribution optical systems BDU2 to BDU6 guide the beam LB (LB2 to LB6) from the light source device 56 to the scanning units U2 to U6. The plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) emit beams LBn (LB1 to LB6) along the irradiation axis Len (Le1 to Le6) to the scanning units Un (U1 to U6). That is, the beam LB1 directed from the beam distribution optical system BDU1 to the scanning unit U1 passes through the irradiation axis Le1. Similarly, the beams LB2 to LB6 directed from the beam distribution optical systems BDU2 to BDU6 to the scanning units U2 to U6 pass through the irradiation axes Le2 to Le6. The beam distribution optical component 58 branches the beam LB from the light source device 56 by means of a beam splitter (not shown) and the beam is incident on each of the plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6). Furthermore, the beam splitting optical component 58 time-divides the beam LB from the light source device 56 by means of a switching optical deflector or the like (for example, an acoustic optical modulator) and selectively allows the beam LB to enter any one of the plurality of beam splitting optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6).

Each of the plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) has an optical element AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) for drawing that modulates (turns on/off) the intensity of the beams LBn (LB1 to LB6) directed to the plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) at high speed according to pattern data. The beam distribution optical system BDU1 has the optical element AOM1 for drawing, and similarly, the beam distribution optical systems BDU2 to BDU6 have the optical elements AOM2 to AOM6 for drawing. The optical elements AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) for drawing are acoustic optical modulators (Acousto-Optic Modulators) that are transparent to the beams LB. The drawing optical element AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) generates primary diffraction light by diverting the beam LB from the light source device 56 at a diffraction angle corresponding to the frequency of the high-frequency signal as the driving signal, and emits the primary diffraction light as the beam LBn (LB1 to LB6) toward each scanning unit Un (U1 to U6). The drawing optical element AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) turns on/off the generation of the primary diffraction light (beam LBn) by diffracting the incident beam LB according to the on/off of the driving signal (high-frequency signal) from the lower control device 14d.

When the drive signal (high frequency signal) from the lower control device 14d is in the off state, the drawing optical element AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) allows the incident beam LB (0th order light) to pass through without diffraction, thereby guiding the beam LB to the absorber (not shown) provided in the beam distribution optical system BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6). Therefore, when the drive signal is in the off state, the beam LBn (LB1 to LB6) passing through the drawing optical element AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) does not enter the scanning unit Un (U1 to U6). That is, the intensity of the beam LBn passing through the scanning unit Un becomes a low level (zero). This means that when observed on the irradiated surface of the substrate FS, the intensity of the light spot SP of the beam LBn irradiated onto the irradiated surface has been modulated to a low level (zero). On the other hand, when the driving signal (high-frequency signal) from the lower control device 14d is turned on, the drawing optical element AOMn (AOM1~AOM6) diverts the incident beam LB and emits a diverted light once, thereby guiding the beam LBn (LB1~LB6) to the scanning unit Un (U1~U6). Therefore, when the driving signal is turned on, the intensity of the beam LBn passing through the scanning unit Un becomes a high level. This means that when observed on the irradiated surface of the substrate FS, the intensity of the light spot SP of the beam LBn irradiated onto the irradiated surface has been modulated to a high level. In this way, by applying an on/off driving signal to the drawing optical elements AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6), the drawing optical elements AOMn (AOM1 to AOM6) can be switched on/off.

The pattern data is set for each scanning unit Un (U1~U6) one by one. The lower control device 14d switches the driving signal applied to each drawing optical element AOMn (AOM1~AOM6) to the open state/closed state at high speed based on the pattern data of the pattern drawn by each scanning unit Un (U1~U6) (for example, a data row in which a predetermined pixel unit corresponds to 1 bit and a logic value "0" or "1" represents the closed state and the open state). In this way, the drawing action corresponding to the pattern data is performed on each scanning unit Un (U1~U6) one by one, and the pattern is exposed and drawn along the Y direction by the six scanning units Un (U1~U6) in the exposure area (pattern forming area) of the substrate FS.

The main body frame UB holds a plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) and a plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6). The main body frame UB has a first frame Ub1 that holds a plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6), and a second frame Ub2 that holds a plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6). The first frame Ub1 holds a plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) above (on the +Z direction side) the plurality of scanning units Un (U1 to U6) held by the second frame Ub2. The first frame Ub1 supports the plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) from below (on the -Z direction side). The odd-numbered beam distribution optical systems BDU1, BDU3, and BDU5 are supported by the first frame Ub1 in a manner of being arranged in a row along the Y direction on the upstream side (-X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc at the positions corresponding to the odd-numbered scanning units U1, U3, and U5. The even-numbered beam distribution optical systems BDU2, BDU4, and BDU6 are supported by the first frame Ub1 in a manner of being arranged in a row along the Y direction on the downstream side (+X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc at the positions corresponding to the even-numbered scanning units U2, U4, and U6. The first frame Ub1 is provided with an opening Hsn (Hs1 to Hs6) for allowing the beams LBn (LB1 to LB6) emitted from each of the plurality of beam distribution optical systems BDUn (BDU1 to BDU6) to be incident on the corresponding scanning unit Un (U1 to U6).

The second frame Ub2 is a structure that allows each scanning unit Un (U1 to U6) to be slightly rotatable (e.g., about ±2°) around the irradiation axis Len (Le1 to Le6). By rotating the scanning unit Un (U1 to U6), the drawing line SLn (SL1 to SL6) rotates around the irradiation axis Len (Le1 to Le6), so that the drawing line SLn (SL1 to SL6) can be tilted within a range slightly offset from a state parallel to the Y axis (e.g., ±2°). Furthermore, the rotation of the scanning unit Un (U1 to U6) around the irradiation axis Len (Le1 to Le6) is performed by an actuator (not shown) under the control of the lower control device 14d.

As shown in FIG6 , the alignment microscope AMm (AM1 to AM3) constituting the alignment system is used to detect the position information (marker position information) of the alignment mark MKm (MK1 to MK3) formed on the substrate FS, and is arranged along the Y direction. The mark MKm (MK1 to MK3) is a reference mark used to relatively align (align) a predetermined pattern of the exposure area W drawn on the irradiated surface of the substrate FS with the substrate FS or a layer of the base pattern already formed on the substrate FS. The mark MKm (MK1 to MK3) is formed at fixed intervals at both ends of the width direction of the substrate FS along the long dimension direction of the substrate FS, and is formed in the center of the width direction of the substrate FS between the exposure areas W arranged along the long dimension direction of the substrate FS. The alignment microscope AMm (AM1-AM3) photographs the marks MKm (MK1-MK3) on the substrate FS supported by the circumferential surface of the rotating drum DR2. The alignment microscope AMm (AM1-AM3) is disposed upstream (-X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the position of the light spot SP projected from the exposure head 60 onto the irradiated surface of the substrate FS (the position of the drawing lines SL1-SL6).

The alignment microscope AMm has a light source for projecting illumination light for alignment onto the substrate FS, and an imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS for capturing the reflected light. The alignment microscope AM1 captures the mark MK1 that exists in the observation area (detection area) Vw1 and is formed at the end of the substrate FS in the +Y direction. The alignment microscope AM2 captures the mark MK2 that exists in the observation area Vw2 and is formed at the end of the substrate FS in the -Y direction. The alignment microscope AM3 captures the mark MK3 that exists in the observation area Vw3 and is formed in the center of the width direction of the substrate FS. The imaging signals captured by the alignment microscopes AMm (AM1 to AM3) are transmitted to the lower control device 14d. The lower control device 14d detects the position information of the mark MKm (MK1-MK3) on the substrate FS based on the imaging signal. Furthermore, the illumination light used for alignment is light of a wavelength region that is almost insensitive to the photosensitive functional layer of the substrate FS, for example, light of a wavelength of about 500-800 nm. The size of the observation area Vw1-Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1-AM3 is set according to the size of the mark MK1-MK3 and the alignment accuracy (position measurement accuracy), and is about 100-500 μm square.

The encoder system ES accurately measures the rotational angle position of the drum DR2 (i.e., the moving position and amount of movement of the substrate FS). Specifically, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the encoder system ES has a ruler portion (disc ruler) SDa, SDb arranged at both ends of the drum DR2, and a plurality of pairs of encoder heads ENja (EN1a~EN3a), ENjb (EN1b~EN3b) arranged opposite to the ruler portion SDa, SDb. The ruler portions SDa, SDb have scales formed in an annular shape in the circumferential direction across the outer circumferential surface of the drum DR2. The ruler portions SDa, SDb are diffraction grids with concave or convex grid lines (scales) engraved at a fixed interval (for example, 20 μm) in the circumferential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the drum DR2, constituting a value-added type ruler. The scale parts SDa and SDb rotate integrally with the drum DR2 around the central axis AXo2.

The encoder heads ENja and ENjb project a measuring beam to the scale parts SDa and SDb, and photoelectrically detect the reflected beam (diffuse light), thereby outputting a detection signal (two-phase signal) as a pulse signal to the lower control device 14d. The lower control device 14d interpolates the detection signals (two-phase signal) of the encoder heads ENja and ENjb and digitally counts the movement amount of the grid of the scale parts SDa and SDb, thereby measuring the rotation angle position and angle change of the drum DR2 or the movement amount of the substrate FS with a sub-micron resolution. Based on the angle change of the drum DR2, the conveying speed of the substrate FS can also be measured.

A pair of encoder heads EN1a, EN1b and alignment microscopes AMm (AM1 to AM3) are arranged on the upstream side (-X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc. A pair of encoder heads EN1a, EN1b and alignment microscopes AMm (AM1 to AM3) are arranged on the setting azimuth line Lx1 passing through the center axis AXo2 of the rotating drum DR2 in the XZ plane. Therefore, by sampling the digital count values of the encoder heads EN1a and EN1b based on the moment when the alignment microscopes AM1 to AM3 photograph the marks MK1 to MK3 in the observation area Vw1 to Vw3, the position of the mark MKm on the substrate FS can be made to correspond to the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR2.

A pair of encoder heads EN2a and EN2b are arranged on the upstream side (-X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc, and are arranged on the downstream side (+X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the encoder heads EN1a and EN1b. The encoder heads EN2a and EN2b are arranged on the setting azimuth line Lx2 passing through the center axis AXo2 of the rotating drum DR2 in the XZ plane. The setting azimuth line Lx2 overlaps with the irradiation axes Le1, Le3, and Le5 in the XZ plane at the same angle position. Therefore, the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN2a and EN2b represents the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR2 on the drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5.

A pair of encoder heads EN3a and EN3b are arranged on the downstream side (+X direction side) of the conveying direction of the substrate FS relative to the center plane Poc, and are arranged on the setting azimuth line Lx3 passing through the center axis AXo2 of the rotating drum DR2 in the XZ plane. The setting azimuth line Lx3 overlaps with the irradiation axes Le2, Le4, and Le6 in the XZ plane at the same angle position. Therefore, the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN3a and EN3b represents the rotation angle position of the rotating drum DR2 on the drawing lines SL2, SL4, and SL6.

Since the alignment microscope AMm and the encoder heads ENja and ENjb are arranged in this way, the position of the mark MKm (MK1 to MK3) and the positional relationship between the exposure area W on the substrate FS and each drawing line SLn (processing position) in the sub-scanning direction (transportation direction, X direction) can be determined based on the digital count values corresponding to the encoder heads ENja (EN1a to EN3a) and ENjb (EN1b to EN3b). In addition, based on the digital count values, the address position in the sub-scanning direction of the memory unit that stores the drawing data (e.g., bitmap data) of the pattern to be drawn on the substrate FS can also be specified.

The processing device PR4 has the above-mentioned structure, and the lower control device 14d determines the exposure start position in the sub-scanning direction (X direction) of the exposure area W based on the position information of the detected mark MKm and the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN1a and EN1b. In addition, the lower control device 14d determines whether the exposure start position of the exposure area W has reached the drawing lines SL1, SL3, and SL5 based on the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN2a and EN2b. When it is determined that the exposure start position of the exposure area W has reached the drawing line SL1, SL3, SL5, the lower control device 14d starts the switching of the drawing optical elements AOM1, AOM3, AOM5, and starts the drawing exposure by scanning the light spot SP by the scanning units U1, U3, U5. At this time, the lower control device 14d specifies the access number of the memory unit storing the drawing data based on the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN2a, EN2b, and calls the data of the specified access number in a serial manner to switch the drawing optical elements AOM1, AOM3, AOM5. Similarly, when the lower control device 14d determines that the exposure start position of the exposure area W has reached the drawing line SL2, SL4, SL6 based on the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN3a, EN3b, it starts the drawing exposure by switching the drawing optical elements AOM2, AOM4, AOM6 to scan the light spot SP by the scanning units U2, U4, U6. At this time, the lower control device 14d specifies the access number of the memory unit storing the drawing data based on the digital count value based on the encoder heads EN3a, EN3b, and calls the data of the specified access number in a serial manner to switch the drawing optical elements AOM2, AOM4, AOM6. Thereby, a pattern for exposing electronic components is drawn on the irradiated surface of the substrate FS.

Furthermore, the lower control device 14d controls the switching of the drawing optical element AOMn, etc., and also controls the emission of the beam LB of the light source device 56, the rotation of the polygon mirror PM, etc. Furthermore, although the processing device PR4 is set as an exposure device of the grating scanning method, it can also be an exposure device using a mask, or an exposure device using a digital micromirror device (DMD: Digital Micromirror Device) or a spatial light modulator (SLM: Spatial Light Modulator) device to expose a predetermined pattern.

As an exposure device using a mask, for example, a projection exposure method in which a mask pattern formed on the outer circumference of a cylindrical transmission type or reflection type cylindrical mask (rotation mask) is projected onto the substrate FS via a projection optical system, as disclosed in International Publication No. 2013/146184, or an exposure device in a proximity exposure method in which the outer circumference of the transmission type cylindrical mask and the substrate FS are brought close to each other at a fixed gap can be used. In addition, when a reflection type cylindrical surface-shaped rotation mask or a partially spherical rotation mask is used, for example, a projection exposure device as disclosed in International Publication No. 2014/010274 and International Publication No. 2013/133321 can be used. Furthermore, the mask is not limited to the rotating mask as described above, but may also be a planar mask with a pattern formed on a light shielding layer or a reflective layer on a planar quartz substrate.

[Configuration of processing apparatuses PR5 and PR6] Figure 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of processing apparatuses (wet processing apparatuses) PR5 and PR6. Processing apparatus PR5 is a developing apparatus that performs development processing, which is one type of wet processing, and processing apparatus PR6 is an etching apparatus that performs etching processing, which is one type of wet processing. Processing apparatus PR5 and processing apparatus PR6 differ only in the processing liquid LQ1 for immersing substrate FS, and the other configurations are the same. Processing apparatus PR5 (PR6) has a substrate transport mechanism 62, a processing tank 64, a cleaning tank 66, a liquid removal tank 68, and a drying processing unit 70.

The substrate transport mechanism 62 constitutes a part of the substrate transport device of the device manufacturing system 10, and transports the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR4 (or PR5) in the processing device PR5 (or PR6) at a predetermined speed, and then sends it to the processing device PR6 (or the recovery roller FR2) at a predetermined speed. By placing the substrate FS on the rollers of the substrate transport mechanism 62 for transport, the transport path of the substrate FS transported in the processing device PR5 (or PR6) is determined. The substrate transport mechanism 62 includes a roller NR51, a pneumatic steering rod AT51, guide rollers R51 to R59, a pneumatic steering rod AT52, a guide roller R60, a pneumatic steering rod AT53, a guide roller R61, a pneumatic steering rod AT54, a guide roller R62, a pneumatic steering rod AT55, and a roller NR52 in order from the upstream side (-X direction side) in the transport direction of the substrate FS. The guide rollers R60 to R62, the pneumatic steering rods AT53 to AT55, and the roller NR52 are arranged in the drying processing section 70.

Rollers NR51 and NR52 are composed of the same driving rollers and driven rollers as rollers NR1 and NR2 described previously, and they hold both the front and back sides of substrate FS while rotating to transport substrate FS. Pneumatic steering rods AT51 to AT55 support substrate FS from the side of the substrate FS that is subjected to wet treatment in a state of not contacting the treated surface (or in a low friction state). Guide rollers R53, R56, and R58 are configured to rotate while contacting the treated surface (photosensitive surface) of substrate FS, and other guide rollers R rotate while contacting the surface (rear surface) opposite to the treated surface of substrate FS. Furthermore, the guide rollers R53, R56, and R58 that contact the processing surface (photosensitive surface) of the substrate FS may also be formed to be in contact with the substrate FS only at both ends in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate FS and bend the conveying direction of the substrate FS by 180 degrees. The lower control device 14e (or 14f) shown in FIG. 1 controls the conveying speed of the substrate FS in the processing device PR5 (or PR6) by controlling the motor of the rotation drive source (not shown) provided in each of the rollers NR51 and NR52.

The vertical processing tank 64 holds the processing liquid LQ1 and is used to perform wet processing on the substrate FS. The guide roller R53 is arranged in the processing tank 64 in such a manner that the substrate FS is immersed in the processing liquid LQ1, and the guide rollers R52 and R54 are arranged on the +Z direction side relative to the processing tank 64. The guide roller R53 is located on the -Z direction side of the liquid level (surface) of the processing liquid LQ1 held in the processing tank 64. In this way, the substrate FS can be transported in such a manner that the surface of a portion of the substrate FS located between the guide rollers R52 and the guide rollers R54 contacts the processing liquid LQ1 held in the processing tank 64. In the case of the processing device RP5, the processing tank 64 holds the developer as the processing liquid LQ1. Thus, the substrate FS is subjected to development processing. That is, the photosensitive functional layer (photoresist) exposed by the processing device PR4 is developed, and the anti-etching agent layer etched in a shape corresponding to the latent image formed on the photosensitive functional layer is revealed. In the case of the processing device RP6, the processing tank 64 holds the etching liquid as the processing liquid LQ1. Thus, the substrate FS is subjected to etching processing. That is, the photoresist layer (the photosensitive functional layer with the pattern formed) is used as a mask to etch the metal thin film formed under the photosensitive functional layer, and a pattern layer corresponding to the circuit used for electronic components is revealed on the metal thin film.

The vertical cleaning tank 66 is used to perform a cleaning process on the substrate FS that has been subjected to a wet treatment. In the cleaning tank 66, a plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a are arranged along the Z direction to release a cleaning liquid (e.g., water) LQ2 to the surface of the substrate FS. The plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a release the cleaning liquid LQ2 in a spraying manner along two directions, the -X direction side and the +X direction side. The guide roller R56 is arranged in the cleaning tank 66 and the plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a are arranged on the -Z direction side, and the guide rollers R55 and R57 are arranged on the +Z direction side relative to the cleaning tank 66. Thus, the substrate FS from the guide roller R55 to the guide roller R56 is transported to the -Z direction side in a manner that its surface (processing surface) faces the cleaning nozzle 66a side at a position on the -X direction side relative to the plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a. Furthermore, the substrate FS from the guide roller R56 to the guide roller R57 is transported to the +Z direction side in a manner that its surface (processing surface) faces the cleaning nozzle 66a at a position on the +X direction side relative to the plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a. Thus, the surface of the substrate FS from the guide roller R55 to the guide roller R56 is cleaned by the cleaning liquid LQ2 released to the -X direction side from the plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a provided in the cleaning tank 66. Similarly, the surface of the substrate FS passing from the guide roller R56 to the guide roller R57 is cleaned by the cleaning liquid LQ2 discharged toward the +X direction from the plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a provided in the cleaning tank 66. In addition, an outlet 66b for discharging the cleaning liquid LQ2 discharged from the plurality of cleaning nozzles 66a to the outside of the cleaning tank 66 is provided on the bottom wall of the cleaning tank 66.

The deliquidation tank 68 is used to perform deliquidation treatment on the substrate FS that has undergone the cleaning treatment, that is, to remove the cleaning liquid (for example, water) LQ2 attached to the substrate FS. In the deliquidation tank 68, a plurality of nozzles 68a are provided to release gas such as air to the substrate FS. The nozzles 68a are provided along the Z direction on each inner wall surface of the deliquidation tank 68 parallel to the Z direction. Thereby, the plurality of nozzles 68a release gas to the substrate FS from the ±X direction side and the ±Y direction side. The guide roller R58 is provided in the deliquidation tank 68 and the plurality of nozzles 68a are close to the -Z direction side, and the guide rollers R57 and R59 are provided on the +Z direction side relative to the deliquidation tank 68. The substrate FS from the guide roller R57 to the guide roller R58 is transported to the -Z direction side at a position close to the +X direction side with respect to the inner wall surface of the liquid removal tank 68 along the Z direction provided with a plurality of air nozzles 68a. The substrate FS from the guide roller R58 to the guide roller R59 is transported to the +Z direction side at a position close to the -X direction side with respect to the inner wall surface of the liquid removal tank 68 along the Z direction provided with a plurality of air nozzles 68a. The inner wall surface of the liquid removal tank 68 along the ±Y direction along the Z direction provided with a plurality of air nozzles 68a is disposed in the X direction between the position of the substrate FS transported from the guide roller R57 to the guide roller R58 and the position of the substrate FS transported from the guide roller R58 to the guide roller R59. Thus, the cleaning liquid LQ2 adhering to the substrate FS that flows from the guide roller R57 to the guide roller R59 is removed by releasing gas from the plurality of gas nozzles 68a disposed in the liquid removal tank 68 toward the ±X direction. In addition, an outlet 68b for discharging the cleaning liquid LQ2 removed from the substrate FS by the plurality of gas nozzles 68a to the outside of the liquid removal tank 68 is disposed on the bottom wall of the liquid removal tank 68. The outlet 68b also functions as an exhaust port for allowing the gas released from the plurality of gas nozzles 68a to overflow.

The drying treatment section 70 performs drying treatment on the substrate FS that has been treated with the waste liquid. The drying treatment section 70 dries and removes the cleaning liquid LQ2 remaining on the substrate FS by blowing a dry air (warm air) such as dry air to the surface of the substrate FS, an infrared light source, or a ceramic heater. The guide rollers R60 to R62, pneumatic steering rods AT53 to AT55, and rollers NR52 provided in the drying treatment section 70 are arranged to extend the conveying path of the substrate FS and to make it a serpentine conveying path. In the first embodiment, the guide rollers R60 to R62 and the roller NR52 are arranged on the +Z direction side relative to the pneumatic steering rods AT53 to AT55, so that the conveying path of the substrate FS is meandered and the substrate FS is conveyed along the +X direction.

In addition, the dry processing section 70 functions as a storage section (buffer) capable of storing substrates FS of a predetermined length. Thus, even when the transport speed of the substrate FS transferred from the processing device PR4 (or PR5) and the transport speed of the substrate FS transferred to the processing device PR6 (or the recovery roller FR2) are different, the speed difference can be absorbed by the dry processing section 70. In order to make the dry processing section 70 also function as a storage section, the pneumatic steering rods AT53 to AT55 can be moved in the Z direction and are always energized in the -Z direction with a predetermined force (tension). Thus, the pneumatic steering rods AT53 to AT55 move along the Z direction (+Z direction or -Z direction) according to the change of the storage length of the substrate FS in the drying process section 70; the change of the storage length is caused by the difference in the conveying speed of the substrate FS entering and exiting the drying process section 70. In this way, the drying process section 70 can store a predetermined length of the substrate FS under the condition of applying a predetermined tension to the substrate FS. Furthermore, by extending the conveying path in a winding manner, the residue of the liquid remaining on the substrate FS, the molecules of the liquid soaked in the substrate FS, etc. can be effectively dried, and the predetermined length (maximum storage length) that can be stored in the drying process section 70 can also be extended.

As described above, the mist generating device MG1 (MG2) constituting a part of the processing device (film forming device) PR2 includes: a container 30a, which holds the dispersion liquid DIL1 containing microparticles NP; a vibration part 32a, which suppresses the aggregation of microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL1 by applying a vibration of a first frequency to the dispersion liquid DIL in the container 30a; and a vibration part 34a, which applies a vibration of a second frequency higher than the first frequency to the dispersion liquid DIL1 in the container 30a for generating mist MTa containing microparticles NP from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL1. Thereby, it is unnecessary to add a surfactant for suppressing the aggregation of microparticles NP to the dispersion liquid DIL, the steps and man-hours for film formation are reduced, and the film formation accuracy can be improved.

In addition, the mist generating device MG1 (MG2) further includes: a container 30b, which holds the dispersion DIL2 liquefied from the mist MTa generated in the container 30a; and a vibrating portion 34b, which imparts a second frequency to the dispersion DIL2 in the container 30b; the mist MTa generated in the container 30a is transported to the container 30b by the carrier gas. Thus, even when microparticles NP (or microparticle lumps remaining in an agglomerated state) that are not thoroughly dispersed in the container 30a and have a relatively large particle size are supplied from the container 30a together with the mist MTa, they can be filtered by the presence of the container 30b. Therefore, there is no need to set up a special filtering function separately.

The first frequency of the vibration imparted by the vibration section 32a (32b) to the dispersion liquid DIL is a frequency lower than 1 MHz. Therefore, the agglomerated microparticles NP can be effectively crushed (dispersed) by the vibration section 32a (32b), and the agglomeration of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL1 can be effectively suppressed. In addition, the second frequency of the vibration imparted by the vibration section 34a (34b) to the dispersion liquid DIL is a frequency higher than 1 MHz. Therefore, the mist MT atomized from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL can be effectively generated by the vibration section 34a (34b).

[Second embodiment] Next, the second embodiment is described. In the second embodiment, the same symbols are used for the same components as those described in the first embodiment, and the description and illustration of components that do not require special description are omitted.

FIG8 is a diagram showing a simplified structure of the mist generating device MGa of the second embodiment. The mist generating device MGa includes containers 30a, 30b, a mist conveying passage 36a, and vibration parts 32a, 32b, 34a, etc. The container 30a holds the dispersion DIL1. The vibration part 32a imparts vibration of a first frequency (a frequency lower than 1 MHz, for example, 20 kHz) to the dispersion DIL1 held in the container 30a. Thereby, the microparticles NP agglomerated in the dispersion DIL1 are crushed (dispersed), and the agglomeration of the microparticles NP in the dispersion DIL1 is suppressed. The vibration part 34a imparts vibration of a second frequency (a frequency higher than 1 MHz, for example, 2.4 MHz) to the dispersion DIL1 held in the container 30a. Thereby, mist MT is generated from the atomization of the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL1. Each particle of the mist MT with a size of several microns contains microparticles NP much smaller than the diameter of the mist MT, but does not contain microparticles NP lumps larger than the size of the mist MT. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the vibration part 32a is immersed in the dispersion liquid DIL1, and the vibration part 34a is set on the outer wall of the container 30a, but the setting position of the vibration part 32a, 34a is not limited to this. In short, as long as the vibration parts 32a, 34a can give the dispersion liquid DIL1 a vibration of a predetermined frequency, it will be sufficient. This is also true in the above-mentioned first embodiment, and it is also true in the following third embodiment.

The mist MT generated in the container 30a is transported to the container 30b through the mist transport flow path 36a by the carrier gas (for example, compressed nitrogen gas) supplied to the container 30a. The container 30b holds the dispersion (nanoparticle dispersion) DIL2 formed by liquefying the mist MT transported from the container 30a. As a result, the microparticles NP in the dispersion DIL2 in the container 30b become nanoparticles much smaller in size than the mist MT. The container 30b is not provided with the mist transport flow path 36b, and is in a sealed state except for the connection interface with the mist transport flow path 36a. Therefore, the container 30b can efficiently liquefy the mist MT supplied from the container 30a through the mist transport flow path 36a.

The vibration part (third vibration part) 32b gives vibration of the first frequency (for example, 20 kHz) to the dispersion liquid DIL2 held in the container 30b. Thereby, the aggregation of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL2 can be suppressed. Therefore, the dispersion liquid DIL2 can be stored in advance in a state where the microparticles NP are dispersed as nanoparticles, that is, in a state of a dispersion liquid (nanoparticle dispersion liquid) where the microparticles NP are not aggregated. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the vibration part 32b is set on the outer wall of the container 30b, but the setting position of the vibration part 32b is not limited to this. In short, the vibration part 32b only needs to give the dispersion liquid DIL2 vibration of a predetermined frequency. This point is also the same in the above-mentioned first embodiment.

Furthermore, when film formation is performed, the dispersion liquid DIL2 held and stored in the container 30b can be used. In this case, the dispersion liquid DIL2 in the container 30b can also be transferred to a container of another mist generating device used for film formation. In addition, as in the first embodiment described above, the mist conveying flow path 36b connected to the supply pipe ST1 (ST2) can be connected to the container 30b, and a vibrating part 34b vibrating at a second frequency can be provided in the container 30b. Therefore, in this second embodiment, it is not necessary to add a surfactant to the dispersion liquid DIL to suppress the aggregation of the microparticles NP, and the steps and working hours for film formation are reduced, and the film formation accuracy can be improved. Furthermore, in order to efficiently restore the mist MT generated in the container 30a to liquid (dispersion liquid DIL2) in the container 30b, the temperature in the container 30b (the inner wall temperature of the container 30b) can be set lower than the temperature in the container 30a to promote condensation.

[Third Implementation] Next, the third implementation is described. In the third implementation, the same symbols are used for the same components as those described in the first implementation, and the description and illustration of components that do not require special description are omitted.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mist generating device MGb according to the third embodiment. The mist generating device MGb includes containers 30a, 30b, mist transfer passages 36a, 36b, and vibrating parts 32a, 34a, 34b. The difference from the first embodiment is that a partition 82 is provided in the container 30b to divide the internal space of the container 30b into a first space 80a and a second space 80b; an exhaust portion 84 is provided to exhaust the gas (including the mist MT) in the first space 80a; and a gas flow path GT2 is provided in the second space 80b to supply a carrier gas (for example, a compressed gas mixed with nitrogen and argon) different from the carrier gas (for example, a compressed gas such as nitrogen) supplied to the container 30a. In order to distinguish the two carrier gases, for convenience, the carrier gas supplied to the container 30a is sometimes referred to as the first carrier gas, and the carrier gas supplied to the second space 80b is sometimes referred to as the second carrier gas. Furthermore, the mist MT generated from the dispersion liquid DIL1 in the first space 80a is referred to as MTa, and the mist MT generated from the dispersion liquid DIL2 in the second space 80b is referred to as MTb.

The mist transport passage 36a is connected to the first space 80a, and the mist MTa transported from the container 30a through the mist transport passage 36a enters the first space 80a together with the first carrier gas. That is, the mist MTa transported from the container 30a exists in the first space 80a. The partition 82 prevents the mist MTa and the first carrier gas transported from the container 30a from invading the second space 80b. The partition 82 is preferably configured such that the lower end is immersed in the dispersion DIL2 held in the container 30b and the upper end extends to the upper wall of the container 30b. Furthermore, if the lower end of the partition 82 extends to the lower wall of the container 30b, the dispersion liquid DIL2 formed by liquefying the mist MTa transported from the container 30a cannot penetrate into the second space 80b and will remain in the first space 80a, so the lower end of the partition 82 is located above the lower wall (bottom plate) of the container 30b. In addition, when the lower end of the partition 82 is extended to the lower wall of the container 30b, it is sufficient to provide a hole for connecting the first space 80a and the second space 80b at the lower end of the partition 82 (lower than the liquid level of the dispersion liquid DIL2).

The exhaust part 84 is connected to the first space 80a and is mainly used to exhaust the first carrier gas supplied from the container 30a to the first space 80a of the container 30b. Furthermore, the exhaust part 84 may also exhaust the mist MTa, so it is preferred to set a filter for reducing the exhaust of the mist MTa in the exhaust part 84.

In the second space 80b, there is mist MTb atomized from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL2 in the container 30b by the vibration of the vibration part 34b. It is preferable to arrange the vibration part 34b on the side of the second space 80b in such a manner that most or all of the mist MTb generated from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL2 by the vibration of the vibration part 34b is released into the second space 80b. The second space 80b is connected to the mist transport flow path 36b, and the second space 80b is connected to the gas flow path GT2. Therefore, the mist MTb is supplied to the mist processing part (film forming part) through the mist transport flow path 36b by the second carrier gas supplied from the gas supply part (not shown) into the second space 80b through the gas flow path GT2. The intrusion of the second carrier gas into the first space 80a is prevented by the partition 82. The mist processing section performs a film forming process on the surface of the substrate FS using the mist MTb.

Thus, by providing the partition 82, the carrier gas supplied to the container 30a can be different from the carrier gas supplied to the mist processing section. Thus, the carrier gas suitable for the film forming process of the mist processing section can be supplied to the mist processing section. Since the carrier gas has been separated by the partition 82, the concentration or amount of the microparticles NP supplied to the mist processing section can be simply controlled by controlling the flow rate of the second carrier gas. This control is performed by the lower control device 14b of the processing device PR2.

[Variation] At least one of the above-mentioned first to third embodiments can be modified as follows. In addition, the same symbols are attached to the same components as those described in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, and the description and illustration of the components that do not need to be specifically described are omitted.

(Variant 1) In the first or third embodiment, the thin film is formed by using the following mist deposition method: a treatment gas formed by mixing mist MT generated by the mist generating devices MG1, MG2, MGb with an inert carrier gas (e.g., argon, helium, neon, xenon, nitrogen, etc.) is sprayed onto the surface of the substrate FS, so that the microparticles (nanoparticles) contained in the mist MT are deposited on the surface of the substrate FS. The mist deposition method can be applied to a plasma processing device that forms a functional thin film on the surface of a thin sheet substrate under a pressure close to atmospheric pressure, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-130851. The patent publication discloses the following: a thin sheet substrate is arranged between an upper electrode and a lower electrode, and a processing gas such as a metal-hydrogen compound, a metal-halide compound, or a metal alcoholate is sprayed onto the surface of the thin sheet substrate. A high voltage pulse electric field is applied between the upper electrode and the lower electrode to generate discharge plasma, thereby forming a metal oxide thin film such as _SiO2 , _TiO2 , or _SnO2 on the surface of the thin sheet substrate.

There are various types of plasma treatment devices, depending on the structure and configuration of the electrodes, the method of applying high voltage, etc., but all of them need to generate uniform plasma in the area where the processing gas contacts the surface of the substrate, thereby forming a film of uniform thickness. If plasma assistance is added to the mist deposition method (or mist CVD method), it is better to generate non-thermal equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma in the space near the surface of the substrate to be filmed and sprayed with the processing gas containing the mist, and an atmospheric pressure plasma generating device using a large horn wave can be used. An apparatus for forming a film by non-thermal equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma processing in a low temperature (below 200° C.) environment is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-514454.

If the above-mentioned mist generating devices MG1, MG2, and MGb are used, the aggregation of the microparticles NP is suppressed by ultrasonic vibration when the mist MT is generated, so that the microparticles NP contained in each mist MT are almost not aggregated, or even if they are aggregated, they become blocks much smaller than the size of the mist MT and reach the surface of the substrate FS. Therefore, by combining with the above-mentioned plasma processing device, the formed film will become uniform and dense, and the film formation rate (film thickness deposited per unit time) is also improved. Furthermore, when the plasma processing device is applied to the above-mentioned implementation form, it is sufficient to set the plasma processing device (including the upper electrode and the lower electrode, etc.) in the mist processing part (film forming chamber 22 in Figure 2).

(Variant 2) FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a device manufacturing system 10a according to Variant 2. In the device manufacturing system 10a, the substrate FS supplied from the supply roller FR1 is conveyed through the processing apparatuses PR1 to PR4 in the order of the processing apparatus PR1, the processing apparatus PR3, the processing apparatus PR4, and the processing apparatus PR2, and then is taken up by the recovery roller FR2. Thus, the substrate FS is subjected to each process in the order of base processing, coating processing, exposure processing, and film forming processing.

In this variation 2, the photosensitive functional liquid (layer) applied by the coating process of the processing device PR3 is set to be a photosensitive silane coupling agent (photosensitive SAM), which is disclosed in the International Publication No. 2013/176222, and can provide contrast by lyophilicity or liquid repellency by irradiation with ultraviolet rays. Thus, a photosensitive functional layer of the photosensitive silane coupling agent is formed on the surface of the substrate FS transported from the processing device PR3 to the processing device PR4. Furthermore, if the processing device RP4 exposes a pattern on the substrate FS, then in the photosensitive functional layer of the photosensitive silane coupling agent formed on the surface of the substrate FS, the portion exposed corresponding to the pattern is changed from liquid-repellent to lyophilic, while the unexposed portion remains liquid-repellent.

Furthermore, if the processing device PR2 sprays mist MT on the surface of the substrate FS to form a thin film on the substrate FS transferred from the processing device PR4, the mist MT attached to the unexposed portion becomes a state of weak adhesion. Therefore, the mist attached to the unexposed portion is blown away by a blower or the like in the film forming chamber 22 or the drying processing unit 26 in FIG. 2 . On the contrary, the mist MT attached to the exposed portion is not blown away by the blower or the like to form a film. In this way, by processing the substrate FS, a thin film can be selectively formed on the substrate FS according to the shape and size of the pattern by the mist deposition method. Furthermore, a dedicated air nozzle for blowing away the mist MT attached to the unexposed portion may be provided at the downstream side of the spray nozzles NZ1 and NZ2 and the upstream side of the drying processing unit 26 as viewed from the conveying direction of the substrate FS.

(Variant 3) Particles with a larger diameter than the particles of the generated mist MT, for example, larger particles with a particle diameter of 5 to 30 μm or more, may be mixed into the dispersion DIL held by the container 30a of the mist generating devices MG1, MG2, MGa, and MGb. By mixing particles with a relatively large particle diameter (hereinafter referred to as pulverizing particles), the aggregated microparticles NP can be efficiently pulverized. By setting the particle size of the crushing particles to be larger than the particle size of the mist MT generated by 2.4 MHz ultrasound, the nanoparticle microparticles NP contained in the mist MT can be distinguished from the crushing particles. Therefore, there is no need to waste time in crushing the agglomerated microparticles NP, waiting for the crushing particles to settle, and then scooping up the supernatant, thereby continuously producing nanoparticle microparticles NP.

(Variant 4) When generating mist MT in the mist generating devices MG1, MG2, MGa, MGb shown in the above Figures 3, 8, and 9, it is preferred that the first vibrating portion 32a, 32b for suppressing the agglomeration of the microparticles NP in the dispersion DIL and the second vibrating portion 34a, 34b for generating mist MT from the surface of the dispersion DIL are operated substantially simultaneously. Depending on the material of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL, there is also a situation where, in a state where the microparticles NP are dispersed to a size that can be effectively contained in the mist MT (effective diameter is 2 to 5 μm) (a size that can be contained in one mist), there is a difference in the time from stopping the driving of the first oscillating parts 32a and 32b until the dispersed microparticles NP reaggregate to a size that cannot be effectively contained in the mist MT (a size that cannot be contained in one mist). Therefore, in consideration of the time required for the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL to be converted from a state with a larger entropy when the microparticles NP are dispersed to a size that can be contained in one mist MT to a state with a smaller entropy when the microparticles NP are aggregated to a size that cannot be contained in one mist MT, the driving of the first oscillating parts 32a and 32b may be performed intermittently.

Here, the dispersion and atomization using ultrasonic vibration are further explained in detail. It is believed that the dispersion using ultrasonic waves can bring into play the cavity effect in the dispersion liquid. This effect can be imagined as follows: when the ultrasonic waves applied to the dispersion liquid DIL break up the liquid, cavities (holes) are generated in the liquid, and the agglomerated particles are crushed by the high-energy shock waves generated when the generated cavities are destroyed. Therefore, the frequency and output of the ultrasonic waves applied to the dispersion liquid have a greater impact on the efficiency of dispersion. The frequency required for dispersion is not limited as long as it can generate cavities in the dispersion liquid, and is generally around tens of kilohertz (KHz). If the frequency is higher than tens of kilohertz, although the number of cavities generated increases, the size of each cavity becomes smaller, so there is a tendency for the energy of the shock wave to decrease relatively. The greater the output (vibration amplitude) of the ultrasonic wave given to the dispersion, the higher the efficiency, and the dispersion of microparticles NP in a large volume of dispersion DIL can be achieved in a short time.

On the other hand, in the frequency band of ultrasound waves that generate mist from the dispersion liquid DIL, it is difficult to generate large cavities in the dispersion liquid, and the ability to crush the aggregated particles NP is low. However, if ultrasound waves are irradiated from the liquid to the liquid surface, the dispersion liquid near the liquid surface will be broken into droplets of a few microns in size to generate mist. Regarding the mechanism of mist (droplet) generation, there are cavitation theory and surface tension wave theory. According to the paper "Generation of Nanodroplets by Ultrasonic Atomization" published in Earozoru Kenkyu, 26 (1). 18-23 (2011), the generated mist diameter D can be theoretically calculated by the following Langmuir-Blodgett formula based on the surface tension wave theory.

[Number 1]

In the formula, Λ (cm) represents the wavelength of the surface tension wave generated by the liquid surface, ρ (g/cm ³ ) is the density of the liquid, γ (mN/m) is the surface tension of the liquid, and F (Hz) is the frequency of the ultrasonic wave. X is a proportional constant obtained by experiment and is set to 0.34. The ultrasonic frequency for generating mist with a diameter of several microns or less from the dispersion liquid DIL is preferably 2.4 MHz when the dispersion medium of the dispersion liquid DIL is water. However, if the dispersion medium is a liquid other than water, such as ethylene glycol, based on the above formula, mist is also generated at a lower frequency of around 1.1 MHz. It can be seen that in order to efficiently generate mist of the desired diameter, it is better to adjust the ultrasonic frequency according to the dispersion medium of the dispersion liquid DIL. Furthermore, since the atomization of the dispersion liquid DIL is generated from the liquid surface, the ultrasonic oscillators such as the oscillating parts 34a and 34b are arranged so that the traveling direction of the ultrasonic wave is toward the liquid surface and the transmitted ultrasonic wave reaches the liquid surface without attenuation.

(Variant 5) FIG. 11 shows a variant of the mist generating device of the first and second embodiments based on the above. In FIG. 11, the same symbols are attached to the components or structures that are the same as those shown in FIG. 3, and their descriptions are omitted or simplified. In this variant, as in FIG. 3, a sealed container 30a, a gas flow path (pipe) GT for supplying a carrier gas such as nitrogen ( _N2 ) into the container 30a, and a transport flow path (pipe) 36a for guiding the mist MT generated in the container 30a to the outside together with the carrier gas are provided. In this modification, the inner container 33 for storing the dispersion liquid DIL and generating the mist MT is provided in the container 30a, and the funnel-shaped mist collecting member 38c for collecting the generated mist MT and guiding it to the transport flow path (pipe) 36a is provided so as to cover the upper opening of the inner container 33. The carrier gas supplied from the gas flow path (pipe) GT flows through the gap between the outer peripheral wall of the inner container 33 and the inner peripheral wall of the lower part of the mist collecting member 38c, and flows through the transport flow path (pipe) 36a through the mist collecting member 38c.

The inner container 33 is filled with the dispersion liquid DIL to a predetermined depth, and the height of the liquid surface is measured successively by the liquid level sensor LLS. The measurement information Sv related to the liquid level measured by the liquid level sensor LLS is transmitted to the dispersion liquid generating section 90. The dispersion liquid generating section 90 is composed of the following components: a mixing mechanism that mixes the microparticles NP supplied from the dispersoid supply section DD having the same structure as that shown in FIG. 3 with pure water (H ₂ O) as a dispersion medium (liquid) at a predetermined concentration (weight %) to generate the dispersion liquid DIL; a tank that temporarily stores the generated dispersion liquid DIL; and a pump mechanism that delivers the dispersion liquid DIL in the tank to the liquid flow path (pipe) WT1 that leads to the inner container 33. As the mist MT is generated, the liquid level of the dispersion liquid DIL in the inner container 33 drops, so the pump mechanism of the dispersion liquid generating unit 90 is servo-controlled to maintain the liquid level of the dispersion liquid DIL in the inner container 33 at a specified height based on the measurement information Sv from the liquid level sensor LLS.

Furthermore, in the inner container 33, there are provided: a vibration part (ultrasonic vibrator) 32a, which is used to suppress the aggregation of microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL (promote dispersion); and a vibration part (ultrasonic vibrator) 34a, which is used to generate mist MT from the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL. The vibration part (ultrasonic vibrator) 32a for suppressing the aggregation of microparticles NP is provided on the inner side wall of the inner container 33, and vibrates at, for example, 20 KHz. In this case, the vibration wave from the vibration part 32a travels in the dispersion liquid DIL in a direction parallel to the liquid surface, thereby suppressing the aggregation of microparticles NP, or breaking up the bulk when the microparticles NP have aggregated and formed a larger bulk. The vibrating part 32a used to make the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL into a dispersed state (non-agglomerated state) can be set at any position inside the inner container 33, and can also be fixed to the outer wall of the inner container 33 depending on the conditions.

In this modification, the vibrating part (ultrasonic vibrator) 34a in the inner container 33 is supported by an adjustment mechanism 92 that can adjust the position and posture in the dispersion liquid DIL. The adjustment mechanism 92 has a plurality of rod-shaped support members 92a and 92b that pass through the bottom wall of the inner container 33 and hold the vibrating part 34a. By moving the support members 92a and 92b in the up-down direction (Z direction), the height position and the posture such as the tilt of the vibrating part 34a are adjusted. The vibration part 34a is set to generate the vibration wave of the mist MT toward the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL, but in order to improve the efficiency of mist generation, it is better to adjust the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL to the depth DP of the vibration part 34a, or the angle α (usually 90 degrees) formed by the vibration wave travel direction and the liquid surface (here parallel to the XY plane). The reason is that when the type of the dispersed substance (microparticles) or the type of the dispersion medium (liquid) of the dispersion liquid DIL is changed, the configuration conditions of the vibration part 34a for efficiently generating mist may change. In addition, the depth DP can be adjusted by moving the plurality of support members 92a, 92b the same distance in the Z direction, and the angle α can be adjusted by moving the plurality of support members 92a, 92b different distances in the Z direction. The angle α is usually preferably 90 degrees, but there are cases where the efficiency of mist generation is improved if it is tilted within a range of 90 degrees ± 10 degrees (80 degrees to 100 degrees).

According to the above modification, a liquid level adjustment function capable of adjusting the liquid level height of the dispersion liquid DIL and a setting adjustment function capable of adjusting the setting state of the vibration part 34a for mist generation in the dispersion liquid DIL are provided, so by using at least any one of the functions, the concentration of the generated mist MT in the carrier gas can be stabilized. Furthermore, according to the setting adjustment function, the efficiency of mist generation can be maintained at a high state. In addition, as in the present modification, the liquid level adjustment function of the dispersion liquid DIL and the setting adjustment function of the vibration part 34a (34b) for mist generation can also be provided in the same manner as in the present modification.

(Variant 6) FIG. 12 shows an example of a modification of the mist generating device of the first and second embodiments. In FIG. 12, the same symbols are assigned to the components or structures that are the same as those shown in FIG. 3, and their descriptions are omitted or simplified. In this variant, as in FIG. 11, a second inner container 33A (preferably metallic) storing the dispersion liquid DIL is disposed inside the container 30a. The bottom of the inner container 33A is formed into a spherical shape and is disposed to be immersed in the water ( _H2O ) stored in the container 30a. The vibration wave is imparted to the water in the container 30a by the vibration part 32a (ceramic vibrator, etc.) vibrated by, for example, a 20 kHz drive signal Ds1. The vibration wave is transmitted to the dispersion liquid DIL through the wall surface of the inner container 33A, and the dispersion liquid DIL is given a vibration wave that can effectively disperse the microparticles NP. Inside the inner container 33A, a vibration section 34a is provided to generate mist MT from the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL, for example, with a 2.4 MHz drive signal Ds2. The mist MT generated in the inner container 33A is collected by the mist collecting member 38a together with the carrier gas such as nitrogen ( _N2 ) introduced through the gas flow path (pipe) GT and passes through the mist transport flow path 36a. In this variant, the dispersion liquid DIL generated by the dispersion liquid generating section 90 shown in FIG. 11 is also injected into the inner container 33A through the liquid flow path (pipe) WT1. Furthermore, although the mist collecting member 38a is shown offset in the X direction from the position directly above the inner container 33A in FIG. 12 , it is preferably configured to cover the upper opening portion of the inner container 33A as in the mist collecting member 38c of FIG. 11 .

In this modification, the wall surface of the inner container 33A is vibrated by the vibration wave from the vibration part 32a with the liquid (water) as the medium, thereby making the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL dispersed. Therefore, in this modification, the vibration part that imparts the vibration for dispersion to the dispersion liquid DIL is composed of the vibration part 32a, the water (liquid) in the container 30a, and the wall of the inner container 33A. The inner container 33A is supported in the container 30a, and it is preferably set to a holding structure using elastic material or the like in order to minimize the obstruction of the wall of the inner container 33A from vibrating at the frequency (e.g., 20 KHz) of the driving signal Ds1. In addition, in this modification, the mist is not generated from the water (H ₂ O) in the container 30a, so it is preferable to separate the space for storing the water (H ₂ O) in the container 30a and the space for generating the mist MT from the dispersion liquid DIL by the partition member 33B in advance. Thereby, the space for storing the water (H ₂ O) in the container 30a becomes a closed space. Therefore, it is not necessary to frequently supply water (H ₂ O) through the liquid flow path (pipe) WT as shown in FIG. 12 , but if the same water is used continuously for a long time, there is a problem of the growth of bacteria, molds, and fungi, so it is preferable to frequently replace the water (H ₂ O) through the liquid flow path (pipe) WT.

According to the above modification, only the vibration part 34a for mist generation is provided in the inner container 33A, so the volume of the inner container 33A can be reduced compared with the modification of FIG11, and the volume of the dispersion liquid DIL can be reduced. Furthermore, in this modification, the liquid level adjustment function of the dispersion liquid DIL and the configuration adjustment function of the vibration part 34a for generating mist MT can also be provided, which are the same as those in the modification of FIG11.

(Variant 7) Fig. 13 is a circuit block diagram showing an example of a drive control circuit section for the vibration section 32a, 34a of the variant of Fig. 11. The drive method of Fig. 13 is not limited to the structure of Fig. 11, and can be applied to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the other variants in the same manner. In this modification, the oscillating part 32a for crushing or suppressing aggregation of microparticles NP and the oscillating part 34a for generating mist are driven by a circuit configuration including an oscillating circuit 200, a frequency synthesizer circuit 202, and amplifier circuits 204A and 204B; wherein the oscillating circuit 200 oscillates with a high-frequency signal SF0 having a frequency (e.g., 2.4 MHz) for generating mist. In the circuit configuration of FIG. 13, the oscillating parts 32a and 34a are driven in one of two modes according to the configuration of the oscillating parts 32a and 34a. In the first mode, the vibration part 32a is an ultrasonic vibrator tuned to a frequency suitable for crushing or suppressing agglomeration of microparticles NP (for example, below 100 kHz), and the vibration part 34a is an ultrasonic vibrator tuned to a frequency suitable for generating mist (for example, 1 MHz to several megahertz (MHz)), and the frequency difference between the driving signal Ds1 driving the vibration part 32a and the driving signal Ds2 driving the vibration part 34a is large. In the second mode, the two vibration parts 32a and 34a are both ultrasonic vibrators tuned to a frequency suitable for mist generation (e.g., 1 MHz to several MHz), and the frequencies of the drive signals Ds1 and Ds2 are made to have a frequency difference suitable for crushing or suppressing aggregation of the microparticles NP (e.g., below 100 KHz), so that a vibration wave with a beat frequency of the difference is generated in the dispersion liquid DIL. The selection of the first mode or the second mode is performed by the frequency synthesizer circuit 202.

The frequency synthesizer circuit 202 inputs setting information SFv specifying a frequency (e.g., 20 KHz) suitable for crushing or suppressing aggregation of microparticles NP from the lower control device 14b of the film forming device PR2 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 10. In the case of the first mode, the frequency synthesizer circuit 202 directly applies the high-frequency signal SF0 (e.g., 2.4 MHz) from the oscillation circuit 200 as the high-frequency signal SF2 to the amplifier circuit 204A, and applies the amplified drive signal Ds2 to the vibration part 34a for mist generation. Furthermore, in the case of the first mode, the frequency synthesizer circuit 202 generates a high-frequency signal SF1 obtained by dividing the frequency (e.g., 2.4 MHz) of the input high-frequency signal SF0 by a predetermined frequency division ratio. In the case of this modification, the frequency division ratio is set to 1/120, for example, so the frequency of the high frequency signal SF1 is 20 kHz, and the drive signal Ds1 of the frequency (20 kHz) suitable for dispersing the microparticles NP is applied to the vibration part 32a via the amplifier circuit 204B. In addition, the frequency division ratio of the frequency synthesizer circuit 202 for the high frequency signal SF0 is not limited to 1/120, and it is automatically set based on the ratio of the frequency of the high frequency signal SF0 and the frequency specified by the setting information SFv.

On the other hand, in the case of the second mode, the frequency synthesizer circuit 202 applies the high-frequency signal SF0 from the oscillation circuit 200 directly as the high-frequency signal SF2 to the amplifier circuit 204A, and applies the amplified drive signal Ds2 to the oscillating portion 34a for mist generation, as in the first mode. In the case of the second mode, the frequency synthesizer circuit 202 generates a high-frequency signal SF1 whose frequency is higher or lower than the frequency of the high-frequency signal SF0 by a frequency amount specified by the setting information SFv. That is, the frequency synthesizer circuit 202 performs frequency synthesis in a manner such that the frequency becomes the relationship of SF2=SF0 and SF1=SF2+SFv (or SF2-SFv). This frequency synthesis can be realized by a digital processing circuit or an analog processing circuit. Thus, the vibration part 34a vibrates in response to a drive signal Ds2 of, for example, 2.40 MHz, and the vibration part 32a vibrates in response to a drive signal Ds1 of, for example, 2.42 MHz (or 2.38 MHz). There is a difference of 0.02 MHz (20 KHz) between the vibration wave from the vibration part 34a and the vibration wave from the vibration part 32a, so a vibration wave of the beat frequency of the difference is generated in the dispersion liquid DIL. The vibration wave of the beat frequency becomes a frequency suitable for crushing the microparticle NP blocks in the dispersion liquid DIL or suppressing their aggregation.

Generally speaking, ultrasonic oscillators such as piezoelectric ceramic elements have an inherent resonance frequency, so an efficient method is to drive them with a drive signal of the resonance frequency. In the second mode of this variation, the frequency difference of the drive signals Ds1 and Ds2 applied to each of the two ultrasonic oscillators (32a, 34a) having a resonance frequency of, for example, 2.4 MHz is extremely small, even 0.02 MHz, and both ultrasonic oscillators are driven in the resonance frequency band.

As described above, according to the second mode of this variation, the vibration part 32a for crushing or suppressing the aggregation of the microparticles NP and the vibration part 34a for generating the mist can be set to the same ultrasonic vibrator tuned to a higher frequency for generating the mist. In addition, in the case of the second mode, it is preferred that both the two vibration parts 32a and 34a are configured so that the vibration waves travel from the inside of the dispersion liquid DIL toward the liquid surface, and are configured so that the vibration waves from the vibration part 32a and the vibration waves from the vibration part 34a cross each other slightly below the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL. In the case of the second mode of this modification, both the two vibrating parts 32a and 34a are set as ultrasonic vibrators that vibrate at a relatively high frequency suitable for mist generation, and there is no ultrasonic vibrator that directly vibrates at a relatively low frequency suitable for crushing or suppressing the aggregation of microparticles NP. However, by vibrating the two vibrating parts 32a and 34a at slightly different frequencies, it is possible to simultaneously crush or suppress the aggregation of microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL and generate mist. Therefore, in the second mode of this variant, the state of vibrating either one of the two vibrating parts 32a, 34a and the state of vibrating both of the two vibrating parts 32a, 34a are switched at predetermined intervals, thereby also being able to crush (eliminate agglomeration) or promote the dispersion state of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL at fixed time intervals.

In this modification, by providing a plurality of (or more than three) vibrating parts (ultrasonic vibrators) that impart vibrations of different frequencies to the dispersion liquid DIL, it is possible to simultaneously achieve the function of suppressing the aggregation of the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL and promoting the dispersion state, and the function of generating a mist containing the microparticles NP from the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL. The so-called different frequencies include the case where the ratio of the two vibration frequencies is 10 times or more (above 1 MHz and below 100 KHz), and the case where the difference between the two vibration frequencies is 1/10 or less of either vibration frequency (below 100 KHz/above 1 MHz) to generate a beat. Moreover, in the case of this variation, the two vibration parts 32a and 34a house the ultrasonic vibrators in different housings (metal housings), but it is also possible to house the ultrasonic vibrators to which the driving signals Ds1 and Ds2 of different frequencies are applied in one housing (metal housing).

For example, depending on the type of dispersion medium (liquid) and the type of dispersed matter (microparticles), when the vibration frequency (SF2) imparted to the dispersion for generating mist is about 1 MHz, and the vibration frequency (SF1) imparted to the dispersion for dispersing microparticles is about 100 kHz, in order to drive in the second mode by the drive control circuit unit of Figure 13, one of the two vibration parts 32a, 34a can be set to a piezoelectric ceramic element with a natural resonance frequency of 1 MHz, and the other can be set to a piezoelectric ceramic element with a natural resonance frequency of 0.9 MHz or 1.1 MHz. Alternatively, two piezoelectric ceramic elements having natural resonance frequencies of 1.05 MHz and 0.95 MHz, respectively, may be configured so that the difference in natural resonance frequency is 0.1 MHz.

[Fourth embodiment] FIG. 14 shows the structure of the mist generating device of the fourth embodiment. The overall structure is the same as the mist generating device shown in FIG. 12 above, but the configuration of the vibration part 32a for forcibly dispersing the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL (to prevent agglomeration) and the vibration part 34a for generating mist MT from the surface of the dispersion liquid DIL are opposite to the configuration of FIG. 12. That is, an inner container 33B (first container) is provided inside the container 30a (second container) so that the bottom surface is immersed in the stored liquid LW (water: H2O), and a dispersion liquid DIL containing microparticles NP is stored at a predetermined depth DOL in the inner container 33B, and a probe-shaped (rod-shaped) vibrating portion 32a for dispersing the microparticles NP in the dispersion liquid DIL is immersed in the dispersion liquid DIL through an opening 33Bo at the top of the inner container 33B. A vibrating portion 34a for generating mist is provided in the liquid LW stored in the container 30a. In FIG. 14 , if the direction of gravity is set as the Z direction and the plane perpendicular to it is set as the XY plane, the surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL is parallel to the XY plane. The inner container 33B is made of polypropylene, for example, and the bottom surface is formed into a flat surface parallel to the XY plane, and an exhaust port EP is formed on the side wall surface at a position higher than the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL (in the +Z direction). In order to efficiently guide the generated mist MT to the film forming part, the film forming part side is made negative pressure (air suction is performed), thereby forming an air flow in which the atmosphere flowing in from the gap of the opening part 33Bo of the inner container 33B is accompanied by the mist MT and flows out from the exhaust port EP. The vibration part 34a provided in the liquid LW at the bottom of the container 30a is an ultrasonic vibrator with a vibration frequency of 2.4 MHz or 1.6 MHz to efficiently generate mist MT from the dispersion liquid DIL using pure water as a medium. The vibration direction of the vibration part 34a (the direction of ultrasonic wave generation) is set to the +Z direction, and the ultrasonic wave is projected roughly vertically to the flat bottom surface of the inner container 33B through the liquid LW. Furthermore, the position of the probe-shaped vibration part 32a for dispersion in the XY plane is separated from the position of the vibration part 34a for mist generation in the XY plane by a distance SPL. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the vibration frequency of the vibration part 32a for dispersion is set to about 20 KHz.

In the mist generating device constructed as above, the conditions for efficiently generating mist MT from the dispersion liquid DIL were confirmed by experiments. In the experiment, zirconium dioxide (ZrO ₂ , 5wt.%) manufactured by Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. was dispersed in water (pure water), and a dispersion liquid (solution for mist generation) DIL containing nanoparticles (particle diameter of 3 to 5 nm) of ZrO ₂ was prepared. A 20 kHz ultrasonic homogenizer (VC series or VCX series manufactured by SONICS) sold by Ieda Trading Co., Ltd. was used as the probe-shaped vibrating part 32a for dispersion, and an immersion type ultrasonic atomization unit IM1-24/LW (vibrator diameter of 20 mm) sold by Starlight Technology Co., Ltd. was used. , driving frequency is 1.6 MHz) as the vibration part 34a for mist generation. The vibration part 32a of the ultrasonic homogenizer is a structure in which a vibration source composed of a PZT element is installed on the upper end of a round rod (probe) made of titanium alloy with a diameter of several millimeters (mm) to tens of millimeters. The vibration (20 KHz) of the vibration source is applied to the dispersion liquid DIL through the probe. In addition, a circulating aspirator is used to suck out the gas (air) containing the mist MT in the inner container 33B at a fixed flow rate from the exhaust port EP of the inner container 33B shown in Figure 14 for adjustment.

In the configuration of FIG. 14 , an investigation was conducted to determine whether the efficiency of atomization changes under the following two conditions. Condition 1 is that 100 cc of the dispersion liquid DIL is injected into the inner container 33B, and when the distance SPL is set to a few centimeters (cm), the dispersion liquid DIL is atomized without applying a 20 kHz driving signal Ds1 to the vibration part 32a for dispersion (atomization state without forced dispersion). Condition 2 is that the dispersion liquid DIL is atomized without applying a 20 kHz driving signal Ds1 to the vibration part 32a for dispersion (atomization state with forced dispersion). First, after performing atomization without forced dispersion and atomization with forced dispersion for a fixed time, the amount of residual liquid remaining in the inner container 33B was compared. The result showed that the amount of residual liquid in atomization without forced dispersion was about 97 cc (3% of the atomization amount), and the amount of residual liquid in atomization with forced dispersion was about 95 cc (5% of the atomization amount). It can be seen that the atomization efficiency is improved if forced dispersion is used in combination with atomization. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when observing in the XY plane, when the distance SPL is zero or when the vibration part 32a for dispersion (agglomeration prevention) and the vibration part 34a for atomization at least partially overlap, there is a case where the mist MT is hardly generated. The reason for this is that the vibration part 32a for dispersion, which may become an obstacle, exists between the bottom surface portion of the inner container 33B which is most strongly irradiated by the 1.6 MHz vibration wave of the vibration part 34a transmitted through the liquid LW and the portion of the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL above it.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic vibration (1.6 MHz) for atomization is transmitted to the dispersion liquid DIL via the bottom surface of the inner container 33B made of polypropylene. Therefore, depending on the distance from the bottom surface of the inner container 33B to the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL, i.e., the depth DOL, when the mist MT is generated, the liquid column that should appear on the liquid surface SQ does not appear efficiently, and as a result, the mist MT is not generated. Therefore, in the configuration of FIG. 14, the height of the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL, i.e., the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL, is changed to investigate the change in atomization efficiency. FIG15 is a graph showing an example of the characteristics of atomization efficiency obtained when the dispersion liquid DIL is forcibly dispersed at 20 kHz by the probe-shaped vibrating portion 32a (ultrasonic homogenizer) and the depth DOL is changed to a plurality of points between 10 and 50 mm, in this case, 4 points of 10 mm, 20 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm. In the graph of FIG15 , the vertical axis is the percentage (%) of the residual liquid amount of the dispersion liquid DIL representing the atomization efficiency, and the horizontal axis is the depth DOL (mm). When the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL stored in the internal container 33B is changed, the capacity of the stored dispersion liquid DIL will be changed. Therefore, the residual liquid amount (%) on the vertical axis of Figure 15 is expressed as the ratio (%) of the capacity of the dispersion liquid DIL remaining after the atomization action for a fixed time relative to the initial capacity.

In the case of the mist generating device of the configuration of FIG. 14, as shown in FIG. 15, when the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL is 50 mm, the residual liquid amount is 100%, and almost no mist MT is generated. When the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL is 40 mm, the residual liquid amount is about 99%, and a small amount of mist MT is generated, but it cannot be said to be generated efficiently. In the case of the mist generating device of the configuration of FIG. 14, when the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL is 20 mm and 10 mm, the residual liquid amount is about 95% respectively, which shows that the atomization efficiency is the highest. Therefore, when it is necessary to continuously generate mist MT for a long time, it is better to set up a liquid level sensor LLS as described in the previous Figure 11 in such a way that the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL in the inner container 33B is maintained within the range of 10 to 20 mm, and to set up a mechanism for injecting the dispersion liquid DIL from time to time based on the measurement information Sv.

Next, in the mist generating device of the structure of FIG. 14, the change of the atomization efficiency in the following situation was investigated by experiment: the initial volume of the dispersion liquid DIL was set to be the same, and the depth DOL was set to 20 mm. In this state, the interval SPL between the probe-shaped vibrating part 32a (ultrasonic homogenizer) and the vibrating part 34a for atomization was changed to several points between 5 and 50 mm, here 5 mm, 20 mm, 35 mm, and 50 mm, and atomization was performed for a fixed time. FIG. 16 shows the interval SPL between the probe-shaped vibrating part 32a (metal rod with a diameter of several millimeters to tens of millimeters) and the vibrating part 34a for atomization (vibrator with a diameter of 20 mm). ) is a graph showing the variation characteristics of the atomization efficiency corresponding to the interval SPL. The vertical axis represents the residual liquid volume (%), which is the same as in the previous FIG. 15, and the horizontal axis represents the interval SPL (mm). The variation characteristics A1 in FIG. 16 are the characteristics of the atomization state without forced dispersion, where the vibration part 32a (20 KHz) for dispersion is not vibrated and only the vibration part 34a (1.6 MHz) for atomization is vibrated. The variation characteristics B1 are the characteristics of the atomization state with forced dispersion, where the vibration part 32a (20 KHz) for dispersion and the vibration part 34a (1.6 MHz) for atomization are vibrated together.

In the case of the atomization state without forced dispersion, as shown in the variation characteristic A1, when the interval SPL is 20 mm to 50 mm, the residual liquid amount (%) is approximately 97% (atomization efficiency 3%), which is roughly constant. If the interval SPL is less than 20 mm, the dispersion vibrating part 32a, which may become an obstacle, is close between the bottom surface portion of the inner container 33B that is most strongly irradiated by the vibration wave from the vibration part 34a and the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL above it. Therefore, it can be expected that the 1.6 MHz vibration wave transmitted to the liquid surface SQ becomes weak, and the generation efficiency of the mist MT is reduced due to the reduction of the liquid column that should appear on the liquid surface SQ. In contrast, in the case of the atomization state when forced dispersion is used, as shown in the variation characteristic B1, when the interval SPL is between 20 mm and 35 mm, the residual liquid amount (%) is about 95% (atomization efficiency 5%), and when the interval SPL is 50 mm, the residual liquid amount is 97%, which is roughly the same as the variation characteristic A1. In addition, in the case of the atomization state when forced dispersion is used (variation characteristic B1), if the interval SPL is less than 20 mm, the generation efficiency (atomization efficiency) of the mist MT is also reduced. The reason is that, as described above, the vibration part 32a for dispersion, which is an obstacle to the transmission of the vibration wave (1.6 MHz) for atomization, is close, so that the liquid column that should appear on the liquid surface SQ cannot be stably generated.

As described above, by applying the 1.6 MHz vibration wave of the atomizing vibration part 34a and the 20 kHz vibration wave of the dispersing vibration part 32a to the dispersion liquid DIL at the same time and setting the interval SPL appropriately, the atomization efficiency can be improved (accelerated) as shown in the variation characteristic B1 of Figure 16. Therefore, by arranging the dispersing vibration part 32a close to the atomizing vibration part 34a at a distance (interval SPL) that does not physically interfere with the irradiation range of the stronger vibration wave (1.6 MHz or 2.4 MHz) for atomization toward the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL, the atomization efficiency can be improved. This configuration condition is also applicable to the configuration relationship between the vibration part 32a for dispersion and the vibration part 34a for atomization of the mist generating device (mist generating part) shown in the previous Figures 3, 8, and 9. According to the above experiments, the atomization efficiency of the mist MT is the highest when the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL shown in the previous Figure 15 is in the range of 10 to 20 mm (optimal depth range). Therefore, if the distance SPL between the vibration part 32a for dispersion and the vibration part 34a for atomization is strictly set to a distance range greater than the lower limit value of the optimal depth range (10 mm) and less than twice the upper limit value of the optimal depth range (20 mm), the maximum atomization efficiency can be obtained. However, when it is not necessary to be too precise, good atomization efficiency can be obtained by simply setting the interval SPL to the same level as the depth DOL of the dispersion liquid DIL.

[Variation of the fourth embodiment] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a variation of the mist generating device of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 14 , and components having the same components or the same functions as those in FIG. 14 are marked with the same symbols. In the variation of FIG. 17 , two components are changed relative to the components of FIG. 14 . The first change is: when observing in the XY plane, the probe-shaped oscillating portion 32a is arranged near the center of the inner container 33B, and when observing in the XY plane, the oscillating portion 34a for atomization arranged in the liquid LW in the outer container 30a is set at two places separated by a spacing SPL in the +X direction and the -X direction from the oscillating portion 32a; the second change is: under the opening portion 33Bo of the inner container 33B (made of polypropylene) through which the probe-shaped oscillating portion 32a can pass, a cylindrical conduit 33Bp is provided that surrounds the oscillating portion 32a and extends along the -Z direction to near the liquid surface SQ of the dispersion liquid DIL. Among the changes, in particular, according to the first change, the 1.6 MHz (or 2.4 MHz) vibration wave for atomization irradiated to the bottom surface of the inner container 33B through the liquid LW irradiates over a wider range of the bottom surface, thereby increasing the atomization amount (concentration of the mist MT). In addition, according to the second change, the front end opening of the lower side (-Z direction side) of the conduit 33Bp is set near the liquid surface SQ, so the gas flowing in from the opening 33Bo flows along the liquid surface SQ and then flows toward the exhaust port EP, so the mist MT generated from the liquid surface SQ is efficiently captured and transmitted to the exhaust port EP. Furthermore, the vibrating portion 34a for atomization may also be arranged in a plurality of ring-shaped vibrating portions 32a separated by intervals SPL when observed in the XY plane.

[Fifth Implementation] The following experiment was conducted: using the mist generating device of the previous fourth implementation (Fig. 14), a film containing nanoparticles NP was formed on a sample substrate by a mist method, and the state of the film was compared when atomization was performed without forced dispersion and when atomization was performed in combination with forced dispersion. In the experiment, as shown in Fig. 18, a film forming unit (film forming section) of the fifth implementation consisting of a sealed container (chamber) 30a was used, and the container (chamber) 30a introduced a gas (air) containing mist MT flowing out of the exhaust port EP of the mist generating device of Fig. 14 through a mist transport path (pipe) 36a. Below the chamber 30a, the sample substrate PF is arranged to be tilted at a fixed angle θα relative to the horizontal plane (XY plane) perpendicular to the gravity direction, and at the front end of the mist transport path (pipe) 36a introduced from the top wall above the chamber 30a, a spray nozzle NZ1 including a spray nozzle OP1 facing the -Z direction is provided. The reason for tilting the sample substrate PF at an angle θα is the same as the reason for tilting the substrate FS in the film forming chamber 22 as described in the previous FIG. 2.

Furthermore, an exhaust port EX1 is formed at a position higher than the spray nozzle NZ1 on the side wall (or the top wall side) of the chamber 30a and the side where the sample substrate FP is tilted in the Z direction, and the gas in the chamber 30a is sucked from the exhaust port EX1 at a fixed flow rate by a suction device (not shown). In this way, the gas containing the mist MT generated in the inner container 33B of the mist generating device of FIG. 14 is released from the spray port OP1 in the chamber 30a which becomes the negative pressure side through the mist transport path (pipe) 36a. The gas containing the mist MT released from the spray nozzle OP1 easily flows in the direction along the surface of the sample substrate P due to the configuration of the exhaust port EX1 and the inclination of the sample substrate PF, and can prevent the generation of liquid accumulation on the sample substrate PF. Therefore, the mist MT efficiently adheres to the surface of the sample substrate PF. Furthermore, when the inner container 33B of the mist generating device of FIG. 14 is made positive pressure, and the gas containing the mist MT is ejected from the spray nozzle OP1 in a pressurized state through the mist transport path (pipe) 36a (in the case of extrusion), there is a situation in which the gas (mist MT) from the spray nozzle OP1 is easily dispersed in all directions, thereby reducing the adhesion efficiency of the mist MT.

Furthermore, in the film forming unit of FIG. 18 , the sample substrate PF is set as a heat-resistant glass substrate, and the sample substrate PF is tilted and held on a heating plate (heater) HPT heated to 200° C. The purpose is to make the water as the main component of the mist evaporate instantly when the mist MT from the spray nozzle OP1 adheres to or approaches the sample substrate PF, and to control the maximum film thickness of the nanoparticles NP that can be deposited on the sample substrate PF within a fixed time.

Here, 200 cc of a dispersion DIL containing particles of zirconium dioxide (ZrO ₂ ) (5wt.%) as nanoparticles NP is stored in the inner container 33B of the mist generating device of FIG14 . The average particle size of one particle of ZrO ₂ is 3 to 5 nm, but in the dispersion DIL composed of pure water, it is distributed as agglomerates of various particle sizes. Therefore, the particle size distribution of ZrO ₂ in the dispersion DIL was measured by dynamic light scattering, and the particle size distribution was compared in the case of atomization without forced dispersion (applying only 1.6 MHz) and in the case of atomization with forced dispersion (applying 1.6 MHz + 20 KHz). FIG19 is a graph showing the scattering intensity distribution obtained by the dynamic light scattering method on the vertical axis and the estimated particle size (nm) on the horizontal axis. Characteristic SC shows the particle size distribution in a static state (a non-vibration state without any vibration of 1.6 MHz or 20 kHz), characteristic SA shows the particle size distribution when atomization is not performed with forced dispersion (only 1.6 MHz is applied), and characteristic SB shows the particle size distribution when atomization is performed with forced dispersion (1.6 MHz + 20 kHz is applied). The measurement results clearly show that the characteristic SA when atomization is performed without forced dispersion (applying only 1.6 MHz) is a wide particle size distribution, while the characteristic SB when atomization is performed with forced dispersion (applying 1.6 MHz + 20 KHz) is a particle size distribution with a steeper peak than the characteristic SA.

The characteristic SB of the curve diagram of FIG19 indicates that the dispersion liquid DIL contains a large number of ZrO ₂ particles with a particle size in the range of 20 to 50 nm, and the characteristic SA indicates that the dispersion liquid DIL contains ZrO ₂ particles with a particle size in the range of 20 to 100 nm at the same ratio. That is, when atomization is used in combination with forced dispersion, the superposition effect of the 1.6 MHz vibration of the vibration part 34a and the 20 kHz vibration of the vibration part 32a allows the particles to be dispersed in relatively uniform particle sizes even if agglomeration occurs. Furthermore, although omitted in the graph of FIG. 19 , the particle size distribution characteristic when only the vibration portion 32a for dispersion is vibrated without vibrating the vibration portion 34a for atomization is substantially the same as the characteristic SB in that the bandwidth of the particle size (nm) is slightly narrowed.

Next, when the gas containing mist MT generated by the mist generating device of FIG. 14 is sprayed to the sample substrate PF in the film forming unit of FIG. 18 for a fixed time, the ZrO ₂ nanoparticles are deposited on the sample substrate PF to form a film, and the thickness of the film is compared when there is no forced dispersion and when the forced dispersion is used. At this time, the temperature of the heating plate HPT (sample substrate PF) of FIG. 18 is set to 200°C, and the flow rate of the air sucked from the exhaust port EX1 is set to be fixed. In the film-forming unit of the structure of FIG18 , the film thickness formed by the ZrO ₂ particles obtained by spraying the mist MT onto the sample substrate PF for a fixed time in the atomization state without forced dispersion is about 2 μm, and the film thickness formed by the ZrO ₂ particles obtained by spraying the mist MT onto the sample substrate PF in the atomization state when forced dispersion is used for the same time is about 3 μm. It can be seen that the film-forming efficiency is improved by 1.5 times.

Furthermore, the mist MT generated by the mist generating device of FIG14 was introduced into the film forming unit of FIG18, and a film of _ZrO2 particles with a film thickness of 60 nm (sample 1) and a film of _ZrO2 particles with a film thickness of 2 μm (sample 2) were made on the sample substrate PF (glass), and the haze (HAZE) of each film of sample 1 and ₂ was measured. The haze is expressed by the ratio (%) of the diffused transmitted light to the total transmitted light through the film. The smaller the ratio, the smaller the particle size (or the diameter of the particle block) of the ZrO2 nanoparticles constituting the film, and the film is considered to be dense. The measurement results of the haze (HAZE) of each film of sample 1 and 2 are shown in FIG20.

FIG20A shows the haze characteristics A1 and B1 of sample 1 (film thickness 60 nm), and FIG20B shows the haze characteristics A2 and B2 of sample 2 (film thickness 2 μm). In both figures, the vertical axis shows haze (HAZE) (%), and the horizontal axis shows wavelength (nm). The measured wavelength range is 380 nm to 780 nm. In the case of sample 1, the average haze of the _ZrO2 particle film (thickness 60 nm) formed in the atomization state without forced dispersion is about 0.38% from characteristic A1, and the average haze of the _ZrO2 particle film (thickness 60 nm) formed in the atomization state when forced dispersion is used is reduced to about 0.2% from characteristic B1. Furthermore, in the case of Sample 2, the average mist of the _ZrO2 particle film (thickness 2 μm) formed in the atomization state without forced dispersion is about 14% from Characteristic A2, and the average mist of the _ZrO2 particle film (thickness 2 μm) formed in the atomization state with forced dispersion is reduced to about 10% from Characteristic B2. Thus, it can be confirmed that by using the atomization of the vibration part 32a for dispersion, a significant effect of reducing the roughness of the formed film and improving the density can be obtained. Furthermore, in the experiment described above, the frequency of the ultrasonic vibration wave used to suppress the aggregation of nanoparticles in the dispersion liquid DIL was set to 20 KHz, but this frequency is not fixed and can be adjusted according to the size of the nanoparticle monomer and the material of the nanoparticle. In addition, in the experiment of generating mist MT from the dispersion liquid DIL, the frequency of the ultrasonic vibration wave used for atomization was set to 1.6 MHz, but this is also not fixed and can be set to a frequency that can improve the atomization efficiency within the range of 1 MHZ to 3 MHz.

[Other variations] In the above-mentioned first to fifth embodiments, in the mist generating device (mist generating section), the vibration waves from both the vibration section 34a for misting and the vibration section 32a for dispersion are applied to the dispersion liquid DIL (DIL1) of the solution whose content of the chemical composition components of the surfactant can be regarded as substantially zero, thereby making the particle size of the nanoparticle NP block uniformly smaller in the form of being contained in the mist MT even if agglomerated. Therefore, the film quality formed on the substrate FS can be improved. This effect can also be obtained when the dispersion liquid DIL (DIL1) is heated by a heating element (heater) to generate mist MT without using the atomizing oscillating part 34a while applying the oscillation wave from the oscillating part 32a for dispersion to the dispersion liquid (solution substantially not containing chemical components that become a surfactant). In this case, the temperature of the mist MT generated from the dispersion liquid DIL and the gas containing the mist MT passing through the mist transport path 36a is about 100°C, so the temperature in the film forming chamber 22 shown in FIG. 2 or the temperature in the chamber 30a shown in FIG. 18 is also set to a temperature close to the above temperature. Thus, the method of generating mist (liquid droplets with a diameter of tens of micrometers or less) containing microparticles from the dispersion liquid DIL (solution) in which microparticles are dispersed can be either a vibration method of applying vibration waves (frequency of 1 MHz or more) to the dispersion liquid DIL, or a heating method of generating steam (hot air) from the liquid surface of the dispersion liquid DIL.

10, 10a: Component manufacturing system 12: Upper control device 14, 14a~14f: Lower control device 22: Film forming chamber 22a, 84: Exhaust section 22b: Supply section 22c: Exhaust flow path 24, 42, 52, 62: Substrate transport mechanism 26: Drying treatment unit 26a: Drying section 26b: Storage section 30a, 30b: Container 32a, 32b, 34a, 34b: Vibration section 33, 33A: Internal container 33B: Internal container (spacer member) 33Bo: Opening section 33Bp: Conduit 36a, 36b: Mist transport flow path 38a, 38b, 38c: Mist collection member 44, 70: Drying treatment section 54: Post-exposure baking treatment section 56: Light source device 58: Beam distribution optical component 60: Exposure head 64: Processing tank 66: Cleaning tank 66a: Cleaning nozzle 66b: Exhaust port 68: Deliquid removal tank 68a: Air nozzle 68b: Exhaust port 80a: First space 80b: Second space 82: Partition 84: Exhaust section 90: Dispersion liquid generating section 92: Adjustment mechanism 92a, 92b: Support component 200: Oscillating circuit 202: Frequency synthesizer circuit 204A, 204B: Amplification circuit AM1~AM3: Alignment microscope AOM1~AOM6: Optical element for drawing AT1~AT3, AT11~AT14, AT21, AT22, AT51~AT55: Pneumatic steering rod AXo1, AXo2: Center axis BDU1~BDU6: Beam distribution optical system CO1, CO2: Cooler DCH: Die coating head DD: Dispersant supply unit DIL: Dispersion liquid DIL1: Dispersion liquid DIL2: Dispersion liquid DOL: Depth DR: Drainage treatment device DR1, DR2: Drum Ds1, Ds2: Drive signal EN1a, EN1b, EN2a, EN2b, EN3a, EN3b: Encoder head EP, EX1: Exhaust port ES: Encoder system FR1: Supply roller FR2: Recovery roller FS: Thin sheet substrate (substrate) FT: Fθ lens GT, GT2: Gas flow path HPT: Heating plate (heater) Hs1~Hs6: Opening LB, LB1~LB6: Beam Le1~Le6: Irradiation axis Lg1, Lg2, Lx1, Lx2, Lx3: Setting azimuth line LLS: Liquid level sensor LQ1: Processing liquid LQ2: Cleaning liquid LW: Liquid MG1, MG2, MGa, MGb: Mist generating device MK1~MK3: Marker MPa, MPb: Processing gas MT, MTa, MTb: Mist MX: Mixing section NP: Microparticles NR1, NR2, NR11, NR12, NR21~NR23, NR51, NR52: Roller NZ1, NZ2: spray nozzle OP1, OP2: spray nozzle PF: sample substrate PM: polygon mirror Poc: center plane PR1~PR6: processing device R1~R6, R11~R14, R21, R51~R59, R60~R62: guide roller RT11, RT21, RT22: tension adjustment roller SC1, SC2: concentration sensor SDa, SDb: scale part SF0~SF2: high frequency signal SFv: setting information SG: gas supply part (gas supply part) SL1~SL6: drawing line SP: light spot SPL: interval SQ: liquid level ST1, ST2: supply pipe Sv: measurement information SW: dispersion medium supply part Td: interval U1~U6: scanning unit UB: main frame Ub1: first frame Ub2: second frame Vw1~Vw3: observation area W: exposure area WT: liquid flow path (piping) WT1: liquid flow path (piping)

[Figure 1] is a schematic diagram showing the schematic structure of a device manufacturing system for manufacturing electronic devices by performing a predetermined process on a substrate according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] is a diagram showing the structure of a processing device for performing the film forming process shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] is a diagram showing the structure of a mist generating device shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] is a diagram showing the structure of a processing device for performing the coating process shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5] is a diagram showing the structure of a processing device for performing the exposure process shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] is a diagram showing the drum shown in Figure 5 as viewed from the +Z direction side. [Figure 7] is a diagram showing the structure of a processing device for performing the wet process shown in Figure 1. [Figure 8] is a diagram showing the simplified structure of a mist generating device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] is a diagram showing a simplified structure of the mist generating device of the third embodiment. [Figure 10] is a schematic diagram showing a simplified structure of the component manufacturing system of the second variant. [Figure 11] is a diagram showing a simplified structure of the mist generating device of the fifth variant. [Figure 12] is a diagram showing a simplified structure of the mist generating device of the sixth variant. [Figure 13] is a diagram showing a structure of a drive control circuit portion of the mist generating device of the seventh variant. [Figure 14] is a diagram showing a simplified structure of the mist generating device of the fourth embodiment. [Figure 15] is a graph showing the relationship between the depth of the dispersion and the change in the atomization efficiency in the mist generating device of Figure 14 obtained by experiment. [Fig. 16] is a graph showing the relationship between the interval between the two vibrating parts and the change in atomization efficiency in the mist generating device of Fig. 14 obtained by experiment. [Fig. 17] is a diagram showing a simplified structure of a mist generating device of a modified example of the fourth embodiment. [Fig. 18] is a diagram showing the schematic structure of a mist film forming part for depositing nanoparticles on a substrate using the mist generated by the mist generating device of Fig. 14. [Fig. 19] is a graph showing the measurement results of the particle size distribution when _ZrO2 nanoparticles are dispersed in water by the mist generating device of Fig. 14. 20A and 20B are graphs showing the measurement results of the mist density of a ZrO ₂ nanoparticle film formed on a sample substrate using the mist generating device of FIG. 14 and the mist film forming unit of FIG. 18 .

10: Component manufacturing system

12: Upper control device

14a~14f: Lower control device

FR1: Supply Roller

FR2: Recycling Roller

FS: Thin sheet substrate (substrate)

PR1~PR6: Processing device

Claims (25)

A mist generating device generates mist containing microparticles, and comprises: a first container storing a first liquid containing the microparticles; a first vibrating portion having a first vibrator and imparting a first frequency vibration to the first liquid in the first container; a second vibrating portion having a second vibrator and imparting a second frequency higher than the first frequency vibration to the first liquid in the first container; and a mist transport flow path allowing the first mist generated in the first container to pass together with a first carrier gas. The mist generating device of claim 1 further comprises: a first cooler for cooling the first liquid stored in the first container. The mist generating device of claim 1 comprises: a second container for storing the first mist, i.e., the second liquid, which is liquefied in the first mist generated in the first container and transported by the first carrier gas; and a fourth vibrating part for imparting vibration of the second frequency to the second liquid in the second container. The mist generating device of claim 3 is provided with: a second cooler for cooling the second liquid stored in the second container. The mist generating device of claim 3 further comprises: a third vibration part which imparts the vibration of the first frequency to the second liquid in the second container. The mist generating device of claim 1 further comprises: a first concentration sensor for measuring the concentration of the above-mentioned microparticles contained in the above-mentioned first mist. The mist generating device of claim 3 has a partition, which divides the internal space of the second container into a first space where the first mist transported from the first container exists, and a second space where the second mist generated from the second liquid exists; the second mist generated in the second space is supplied to the mist transport flow path by the second carrier gas. The mist generating device of claim 7 comprises: an exhaust section that exhausts the first carrier gas from the first space; and a supply section that supplies the second carrier gas to the second space. The mist generating device of claim 7 further comprises: a second concentration sensor for measuring the concentration of the above-mentioned microparticles contained in the above-mentioned second mist. As in claim 1, the mist generating device, wherein the first carrier gas for conveying the first mist comprises at least one of nitrogen, helium, and argon. As in claim 7, the mist generating device, wherein the second carrier gas for conveying the second mist comprises at least one of nitrogen, helium, and argon. As in claim 3, the mist generating device, wherein the first liquid and the second liquid do not contain a surfactant. As in claim 1, the mist generating device, wherein the first container contains pulverizing particles for pulverizing the agglomerated microparticles, and the particle size of the pulverizing particles is set to be larger than the diameter of the generated first mist. As in claim 1 or 2, the mist generating device, wherein the first liquid contains pulverizing particles for pulverizing the agglomerated microparticles, and the particle size of the pulverizing particles is 5 to 30 μm. A mist generating device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first frequency is a frequency lower than 1 MHz, and the second frequency is a frequency higher than 1 MHz. A mist generating device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the microparticles include at least one of metal nanoparticles, organic nanoparticles, and inorganic nanoparticles. The mist generating device of claim 1 comprises: an outer container, in which the second vibrating part is arranged, the second vibrating part has a transmission liquid, the transmission liquid serves as a medium for the vibration generated by the second vibrator, and at least the bottom of the first container is in contact with and retained by the transmission liquid. As in claim 17, the mist generating device, wherein the predetermined interval is set to be the same as the depth of the first liquid stored in the first container. The mist generating device of claim 17 or 18 further comprises: a cooler for cooling the first liquid stored in the first container. The mist generating device of claim 17 or 18 further comprises: a first concentration sensor for measuring the concentration of the microparticles contained in the mist passing through the mist transport flow path. As in claim 17 or 18, the mist generating device, wherein the carrier gas comprises at least one of nitrogen, helium, and argon. The mist generating device of claim 17 or 18 further comprises: a second concentration sensor for measuring the concentration of the above-mentioned microparticles contained in the above-mentioned first liquid stored in the above-mentioned first container. As in claim 17 or 18, the mist generating device, wherein the microparticles include at least one of metal nanoparticles, organic nanoparticles, and inorganic nanoparticles. A mist film forming device, comprising: a mist generating device as in any one of claims 1 to 23; and a mist supply unit, which supplies the mist generated by the mist generating device to a substrate. A mist generating method generates mist containing microparticles, and includes the following steps: a step of imparting a first frequency vibration to a first liquid in a first container by a first vibrating unit; a step of imparting a second frequency higher than the first frequency vibration to the first liquid in the first container by a second vibrating unit; and a mist transporting step of allowing the first mist generated in the first container to pass through a mist transporting flow path together with a first carrier gas.