Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20040226913?oq=5%2C490%2C216
Timestamp: 2018-02-19 12:24:56
Document Index: 301175153

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 09', 'art 24', 'art 28', 'art 30', 'art 32', 'art 32', 'art 24', 'art 24']

US20040226913A1 - Wet etching apparatus and method - Google Patents
Wet etching apparatus and method
US20040226913A1
US20040226913A1 US10874231 US87423104A US2004226913A1 US 20040226913 A1 US20040226913 A1 US 20040226913A1 US 10874231 US10874231 US 10874231 US 87423104 A US87423104 A US 87423104A US 2004226913 A1 US2004226913 A1 US 2004226913A1
US10874231
US7332440B2 (en )
A wet etching apparatus and method to shorten processing time and to eliminate formation of unintended mask pattern are described. In the conventional art, after a mask pattern is formed, alien substances such as water mist or stain are left on the substrate. The alien substances act as an etching block in the wet etching process. This generates an unintended mask pattern. The present invention uses ultraviolet light to remove the alien substances prior to the etching process. When the alien substances are removed, the intended mask pattern is generated after the etching process. The wet etching device according to the present invention includes an ultraviolet cleaner and a conveyor to convey substrates to and from the ultraviolet cleaner. Spaces for the ultraviolet cleaner and the conveyor are created in the wet etching apparatus by reducing space for cassettes and reducing space required by the loader. As a result, alien substances can be removed without the need for separate sets of equipment, which reduces processing time, simplifies the process, and increases both productivity and reliability.
This application is a divisional of Application No. 09/731,738 filed on Dec. 8, 2000, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided with electrode terminals and wires. The terminals and wires include source, gate, and drain electrodes of thin film transistors (TFT's), which are used as switching devices within a liquid crystal cell. The terminals and wires also include data lines for applying a video data signal to each liquid crystal cell, gate lines for applying a scanning signal thereto, and pixel electrodes and common electrodes for coupling an electric field with a liquid crystal layer.
[0005]FIG. 1 shows a structure of a conventional wet etching apparatus. The conventional wet etching apparatus includes a plurality of cassettes 20 within a loader 22, a first robot 26, a waiting part 24, an etching part 28, a tilt drain part 30, a de-ionized rinsing part 32, a second robot 36, and a spin drier 34.
Thereafter, the second robot 36 carries the substrates from the de--ionized rinsing part 32 into the spin drier 34. The spin drier 34 dries the substrates, thus completing the wet etching process.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wet etching apparatus and method that is capable of shortening a process time as well as effectively preventing the formation of unintended patterns during etching work.
[0021]FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structure of a conventional wet etching apparatus;
[0022]FIG. 2 represents a plane structure and a sectional structure of a substrate with a mask pattern;
[0023]FIG. 3 represents a plane structure and a sectional structure of the pattern after etching the substrate shown in FIG. 2;
[0024]FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a structure of a wet etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0025]FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are plan views showing substrate shapes before and after cleaning of the substrate using the eximer ultraviolet cleaner of the wet etching apparatus of FIG. 4
A wet etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4. In this wet etching apparatus, an eximer ultraviolet cleaner is mounted within the wet etching apparatus. More specifically, the number of cassettes loaded at the loader is reduced by one from the conventional wet etching apparatus to provide the necessary space to mount the eximer ultraviolet cleaner. The alien substance, such as an organic film or a water mist, left on the substrate is eliminated by the eximer ultraviolet cleaner just before the wet etching takes place.
The conveyer 76 includes of an upper conveyer 92 and a lower conveyer 94. First, the substrate is loaded onto the upper conveyer 92 by the first robot 80. The substrate loaded on the upper conveyer 92 is conveyed into the eximer ultraviolet cleaner 72, such as by a rolling operation.
The eximer ultraviolet cleaner 72 includes an eximer ultraviolet lamp. An ultraviolet ray is irradiated from the ultraviolet lamp onto the substrate. When the ultraviolet ray is irradiated, the alien substance 102 left around the mask pattern 100 as shown in FIG. 5A reacts due to the ultraviolet light and generates ozone gas 03. This eliminates the alien substance 102.
[0033]FIG. 5B shows a plan view of the substrate after the alien substance 102 is eliminated. As seen, alien substance 102 left around the mask pattern 100 is removed and leaves the intended mask pattern 100 on the substrate.
Then the substrate, free from alien substances, is conveyed from the eximer ultraviolet cleaner 72 on to the lower conveyer 94, and then is conveyed to the waiting part 24. Note that the lower conveyer may need to rotate 90° before conveying the substrate to the waiting part 24 depending on the construction.
conveying the substrate to a clean device;
exposing the substrate to an ultraviolet light to remove the alien substances; and
conveying the substrate from the cleaning device to an etching station.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet light includes eximer ultraviolet light.
3. A method for wet etching comprising:
cleaning a substrate having alien substances from an ultraviolet cleaner;
conveying the substrate to and from the ultraviolet cleaner;
etching the substrate in an etching unit.
US10874231 1999-12-11 2004-06-24 Wet etching apparatus and method Active US7332440B2 (en)
KR19990056878A KR100525730B1 (en) 1999-12-11 1999-12-11 Apparatus and Method of Wet Etching
KRP99-56878 1999-12-11
US09731738 US6792957B2 (en) 1999-12-11 2000-12-08 Wet etching apparatus and method
US10874231 US7332440B2 (en) 1999-12-11 2004-06-24 Wet etching apparatus and method
US09731738 Division US6792957B2 (en) 1999-12-11 2000-12-08 Wet etching apparatus and method
US20040226913A1 true true US20040226913A1 (en) 2004-11-18
US7332440B2 US7332440B2 (en) 2008-02-19
ID=19625167
US09731738 Active 2021-03-21 US6792957B2 (en) 1999-12-11 2000-12-08 Wet etching apparatus and method
US10874231 Active US7332440B2 (en) 1999-12-11 2004-06-24 Wet etching apparatus and method
US (2) US6792957B2 (en)
KR (1) KR100525730B1 (en)
US9181100B2 (en) * 2012-06-27 2015-11-10 National Cheng Kung University Method of transferring a graphene film
US6792957B2 (en) 2004-09-21 grant
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US20010015210A1 (en) 2001-08-23 application
US7332440B2 (en) 2008-02-19 grant
KR100525730B1 (en) 2005-11-03 grant
US6674502B1 (en) 2004-01-06 Liquid crystal display with nitrided insulating substrate for TFT
US6203218B1 (en) 2001-03-20 Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method
US5164034A (en) 1992-11-17 Apparatus and method for processing substrate
JP2000124127A (en) 2000-04-28 Resist application/developing apparatus, substrate heat treatment device and substrate transfer apparatus used therefor
JP2000100891A (en) 2000-04-07 Treatment device