JPH1092780A - Sponge brush for cleaning - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sponge brush used for a cleaning device having a long life and an excellent cleaning effect. SOLUTION: In a cleaning sponge brush 35 used in a cleaning device 10 for cleaning a substrate 14, the sponge brush 35 is formed in a columnar shape, and an outer periphery of a contact surface which comes into contact with the columnar substrate 14 is provided. The end is chamfered. According to the above configuration, the sponge brush is formed in a columnar shape, and since the outer peripheral end of the contact surface that comes into contact with the cylindrical substrate is chamfered, the outer peripheral end of the sponge brush locks the substrate. Even when the sponge brush comes into contact with the locking means, it is possible to reduce the damage caused to the outer peripheral end portion, and thus it is possible to extend the life of the sponge brush.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning sponge brush used for cleaning a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for liquid crystal, etc.
A film formation process and a photo process are performed on the substrate on which these circuit patterns are formed. In these processes, the processing and cleaning of the substrate are repeatedly performed.

In each process, if the substrate is contaminated, it becomes difficult to form a precise circuit pattern on the substrate, which causes defective products. For this reason, when forming a circuit pattern in each step, the substrate is washed in a clean state in which the resist or dust peeled off from the substrate surface does not adhere.

As a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the substrate, there is a single wafer type spin cleaning apparatus. In order to further enhance the cleaning effect in this spin cleaning apparatus, an engaging pin provided in the spin cleaning apparatus is used. A sponge brush as a cleaning brush rotated with its axis parallel to the rotation axis of the substrate is brought into contact with the upper surface of the rotated substrate, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the contact portion. Then, the substrate is washed.

[0005] The sponge brush is formed in a cylindrical shape with a resin such as PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), and is connected to a driving source via a shaft or the like, and is mechanically cleaned by being rotationally driven on the substrate surface. Is going.

After cleaning and removing fine particles remaining on the substrate surface by such a sponge brush, the substrate is rotated at a high speed by a cleaning device to remove the cleaning liquid remaining on the substrate surface and to dry the substrate. Processing.

[0007]

The sponge brush attached to the conventional cleaning device is a large-sized PVA.
The sponge brush is manufactured by cutting or grinding into a cylindrical shape from a resin such as a resin. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, in the sponge brush 1, the outer peripheral end 2 of the contact surface that contacts the substrate surface has an edge shape.

When the sponge brush 1 is connected to the shaft to clean the surface of the substrate, the vicinity of the engagement pin is also cleaned by the rotation of the sponge brush 1.
In this case, if the outer peripheral end 2 of the sponge brush 1 has an edge shape as described above, the edge portion contacts the engaging pin, and the contact may damage the sponge brush 1. Therefore, the life of the sponge brush 1 is shortened.

Further, when the sponge brush 1 is manufactured by cutting or grinding as described above, the fine particles generated at the time of the manufacture adhere to the sponge brush 1 and are difficult to separate. This is because the sponge brush 1 has a large number of cell holes 3, and the cell holes 3 are opened on the surface by cutting or grinding, so that the fine particles enter the cell holes 3 at the time of cutting or grinding. The problem has arisen.

When the substrate is cleaned with the sponge brush 1, fine particles existing on the surface of the substrate enter the pores 3 of the sponge brush 1. Therefore, the fine particles entering the bubble holes 3 are transferred to another substrate,
There is a problem that the substrate is contaminated.

Further, if a large number of air holes 3 are formed on the surface of the sponge brush 1 as described above, there is also a problem that the contact surface of the sponge brush 1 collapses due to friction during cleaning of the substrate surface. Has occurred.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sponge brush used in a cleaning apparatus having a long life and excellent cleaning effect.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning sponge brush used in a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, wherein the sponge brush is formed in a columnar shape. The outer peripheral edge of the contact surface that comes into contact with the columnar substrate is chamfered.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning sponge brush used in a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, wherein the sponge brush is covered with a skin layer.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sponge brush is formed in a columnar shape, and since the outer peripheral end of the contact surface that comes into contact with the cylindrical substrate is chamfered, the outer peripheral end of the sponge brush is formed. Even when the sponge brush comes into contact with the locking means for locking the substrate, the damage generated on the outer peripheral end can be reduced, and the life of the sponge brush can be extended.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sponge brush is covered with the skin layer, it is more likely that the pores are opened in the surface portion as compared with the sponge brush formed by cutting or grinding. Is prevented. Thereby,
When cleaning the surface of the substrate, it is possible to prevent the fine particles adhering to the surface of the substrate from entering the inside of the bubble hole. Further, in the manufacturing process of the sponge brush, particles do not enter the bubble holes.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Cleaning device 1
0 has a cup body 11 as shown in FIG. The cup body 11 has a bottomed shape with an open upper surface.
An insertion hole 12 is formed at the center of 1a. A plurality of discharge paths 13 are formed in the bottom surface 11a, and the cleaning liquid discharged to the surface of the substrate 14 is discharged to the outside by the discharge paths 13.

A fixed shaft 15 and a rotating shaft 16 communicate with the insertion hole 12 upward. The fixed shaft 15 is connected and fixed to a base 17, and a supply path 18 a for discharging a processing liquid such as a cleaning liquid and a supply path 18 b for supplying a gas such as N ₂ are formed therein. The rotating shaft 16 is rotatably attached to the fixed shaft 15 via a bearing 19 such as a bearing. That is, the rotating shaft 16 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the fixed shaft 15 is provided so that the inside of the cylindrical shape communicates upward.

A rotary table 20 is integrally mounted on the upper end of the rotary shaft 16. Rotary table 20
A communication hole 21 having substantially the same diameter as the inner diameter of the rotary shaft 16 is formed in the center portion, and a protruding portion 22 is provided along the communication hole 21 so as to protrude upward in a ring shape.

At the outer end of the turntable 20, in the present embodiment, four columns 23 are erected upward. A support pin 24 for holding the lower surface of the substrate 14 is provided at an upper end of the support column 23, and the support pin 24 is provided outside the support pin 24 and higher than the support pin 24.
An engagement pin 25 that engages with the outer peripheral surface of the projection 4 is protruded.

The fixed shaft 15 has the fixed shaft 1
A conical head 26 having a diameter larger than 5 is provided. The head 26 is provided so as to protrude upward from the communication hole 21 of the rotary table 20, and is formed so that an outer peripheral end thereof is lower than the protrusion 22, so that the cleaning liquid enters through the communication hole 21. Has been prevented.

A driven pulley 27 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the lower end of the rotary shaft 16. A motor 28 as a drive source is mounted and fixed to the base 17 at a position separated from the fixed shaft 15 by a predetermined distance, and a drive pulley 29 is fitted to a drive shaft 28a of the motor 28. A belt 30 is stretched between the driving pulley 29 and the driven pulley 27 so that the torque of the motor 28 can be transmitted to the rotating shaft 16.

The substrate 1 placed on the support pins 24
A cleaning unit 3 for cleaning the substrate 14 is located above the cleaning unit 3.
1 is provided movably. The cleaning unit 31
A drive source (not shown) is provided above, and a shaft 32 is connected to the drive source downward.

A brush fixing portion 33 is attached to the lower end of the shaft 32, and a sponge brush 35 for cleaning the surface of the substrate 14 is attached to the brush fixing portion 33. The sponge brush 35 has a large number of air holes 36 inside as shown in FIG.
Are connected inside, so that these pores 36
Since there is an outflow and inflow of air between them, the shape can be easily elastically deformed.

The sponge brush 35 is made of, for example, PVA.
It is manufactured using a synthetic resin as a material in a molding die. For this reason, the surface of the sponge brush 35 is formed on the skin layer 37 from which the cell holes 36 are not exposed. Therefore, as compared with a sponge brush 35 manufactured by, for example, cutting or grinding, a bubble hole 36 is formed on the surface.
No opening occurs.

The substrate 14 of the sponge brush 35
A chamfered portion 38 is formed at the outer peripheral end of the contact surface that comes into contact with the surface during molding. The radius of the chamfer 38 is
For example, it is set to about 2 mm to 3 mm.

The operation of the sponge brush 35 having the above configuration and the cleaning device 10 having the same will be described below. The substrate 14 is placed on the support pins 24, and the substrate 14 is cleaned. In this case, the substrate 1
A cleaning liquid is supplied to nozzle 4 by a nozzle (not shown), and at the same time, the sponge brush 35 is brought into contact with the substrate 14 and driven to rotate. When cleaning the substrate 14, the sponge brush 35 is brought into contact with the entire surface of the substrate 14. When such cleaning is performed, the sponge brush 35 is attached to the engagement pins 25 located on the outer peripheral surface of the substrate 14. The outer peripheral end of 35 contacts.

As described above, even when the outer peripheral end of the sponge brush 35 contacts the engaging pin 25, the outer peripheral end of the sponge brush 35 is formed with the chamfered portion 38. Rotational driving by contact with the mating pin 25 is prevented. Therefore, damage to the chamfered portion 38 can be reduced, and damage to the entire sponge brush 35 from the chamfered portion 38 can be prevented, and the life of the sponge brush 35 can be extended. Become.

Since the sponge brush 35 is manufactured by a molding die, the surface of the sponge brush 35 is covered with a skin layer. Will not occur. Therefore, even if the surface of the substrate 14 is cleaned, the fine particles adhering to the surface of the substrate 14 do not enter the bubble holes 36 and transfer to other substrates 14. Moreover, since fine particles do not enter the bubble holes 36, the time required for cleaning the sponge brush 35 can be reduced. As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can be variously deformed in the range which does not change a summary besides this.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sponge brush is formed in a cylindrical shape,
Since the outer peripheral end of the cylindrical contact surface that comes into contact with the substrate is chamfered, even if the outer peripheral end of the sponge brush contacts the holding pin, damage caused to the outer peripheral end can be reduced. The life of the sponge brush can be extended.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sponge brush is manufactured by a molding die and its outer surface is covered with a skin layer, the sponge brush is compared with a sponge brush formed by cutting or grinding. It is prevented that the pores are opened in the surface portion. Thereby, when the substrate surface is cleaned, it is possible to prevent the fine particles adhering to the substrate surface from entering the inside of the bubble hole. Further, in the manufacturing process of the sponge brush, particles do not enter the bubble holes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the structure of a sponge brush and a cleaning device using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the shape of the sponge brush according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a sectional shape of a conventional sponge brush.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cleaning apparatus 14 ... Substrate 20 ... Rotary table 23 ... Column 24 ... Support pin 25 ... Engagement pin 31 ... Cleaning unit 35 ... Sponge brush 36 ... Bubble hole 37 ... Skin layer 38 ... Chamfer part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning sponge brush used in a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, wherein the sponge brush is formed in a cylindrical shape, and an outer peripheral end of a contact surface which comes into contact with the cylindrical substrate is chamfered. A sponge brush for cleaning characterized by being performed. 2. A cleaning sponge brush used in a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, wherein the sponge brush is covered with a skin layer.