| Method and apparatus for in-line processing and immediately sequential or simultaneous processing of flat and flexible substrates through viscous shear in thin cross section gaps for the manufacture of micro-electronic circuits or displays -> Monitor Keywords |
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Method and apparatus for in-line processing and immediately sequential or simultaneous processing of flat and flexible substrates through viscous shear in thin cross section gaps for the manufacture of micro-electronic circuits or displaysRelated Patent Categories: Cleaning And Liquid Contact With Solids, Liquid Treating Forms And Mandrels, Including Application Of Electrical Radiant Or Wave Energy To WorkMethod and apparatus for in-line processing and immediately sequential or simultaneous processing of flat and flexible substrates through viscous shear in thin cross section gaps for the manufacture of micro-electronic circuits or displays description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070034228, Method and apparatus for in-line processing and immediately sequential or simultaneous processing of flat and flexible substrates through viscous shear in thin cross section gaps for the manufacture of micro-electronic circuits or displays. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/704,453, filed Aug. 2, 2005, whose disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into the present disclosure. FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a cleaning, drying, coating, baking and etching apparatus for the "Flat Panel Display" (FPD) glass industry, architectural window elements, solar elements, as well as the precision panel substrate elements, film substrate industry, integrated circuit, and panel circuit boards of the semi-conductor industry, also as such other like devices and substrates arise, the usefulness of the present invention in those applications will be readily apparent. DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART [0003] In the FPD industry ever larger sheets of glass are being employed in the manufacture of Flat Panel Displays. The processing of these sheets is expensive in that their increasing size makes handling difficult regarding the brittle nature of the glass, due to its thin cross section--precluding anything but the gentlest method of transference. Because the required surface finish is intolerant of any type of defect or contamination manufacturers are increasingly moving towards non-contact conveyance of the panels in handling and processing in order to increase the yield rate. The manufacturing process of the substrate sheets of glass require many operations before they can be integrated with other components. In order for the substrates to perform properly, they must be processed to a high degree of accuracy. This would include cleaning from contamination, streaking and marks, drying, and either coating any number of different ways, or etching to induce desired patterning properties. [0004] Because the handling and processing of FPD glass is so similar to wafers and circuit boards and other elements inherent in the semi-conductor industry, it is anticipated by the inventor that this method and/or apparatus and invention is directly transferable and translatable to the semiconductor industry and its attendant requirements of manufacturing production. Also the usefulness of the invention when processing flexible film substrates should be readily apparent. [0005] Cleaning [0006] In the process of cleaning substrates, traditionally the method utilized in the semi-conductor area, as well as the FPD industry--substrates are held in place while nozzles pass over the surface dispensing water in copious amounts with various cleaning solutions. The force of the cleaning solution spraying on the substrate is increased in order to attempt to use the viscous shear of the water due to its surface tension in order to loosen particles or contaminants adhered to the glass. The process of cleaning is open and dependant upon the level of cleanliness within the clean room, since any particles falling in the air will land and possibly mar the surface. Also, the cleaning solution can be sprayed and or applied via foam rollers which are also used to gently scrub the glass via contact. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,856 Itzkowitz, herein used as a reference. This induces errors into the glass surface, though small, due to its contact nature; however this is occasionally desirable due to the polishing effect thereby created. However, due to the atmosphere of the clean room having a very low level of humidity the process engenders streaking due to the cleaning solution drying on the glass surface prior to being rinsed, creating undesirable glass streaks and further issues with glass quality which degrade quality. [0007] When cleaning semiconductor silicon wafers, a similar process is employed in that nozzles are passed over the substrate surface dispensing copious amount of water and cleaning solution in an effort to dislodge particulate contamination. However, since the wafers are round, the disc is spun, in order to create a centrifugal force and fling the water off the surface in an effort to use the viscous shear effect of the water on the substrate as it is forced to slide over the surface. This process also experiences the same elemental problems as the cleaning process described above, in that the clean room environment has very low humidity, causing quick drying and the creation of streaks on the substrate surface. Also, the water being flung off the surface of the wafers edge impinges the retaining wall of the wafer enclosure, atomizing the water droplets, and causing them to reattach to the wafer surface subsequently drying and causing water spots. This process of utilizing water essentially poured over the surface is not entirely efficacious, allowing streaks, spots and other visual defects to remain. This causes serious problems within the production framework, causing slowdowns and lost revenue due to production delays. [0008] Etching [0009] In the manufacture of precision tolerance substrates including the FPD glass industry as well as the semi-conductor industry the need arises to remove material and or to chemically change the surface quality or thickness of the substrate. The use of etchants of various sorts and types is a viable means of changing the substrate surface and or chemically removing material for thickness qualifications. The handling of chemicals is difficult since the substrates involved require careful support as well as the fact that etchants are chemically reactive and so often caustic and dangerous to administer and contain. Conventionally, the most useful method of applying etchings is by soaking the substrate in a container having an etchant and applying a force. There are inherent problems in this method in that the impurities within the etchant are allowed to remain on the surface of the substrate so that the surface of the substrate requires further remediation to correct what the etching process produces. A methodology to further improve upon this process is to set the substrate in a container having an etchant and then direct bubbles generated from an outside source onto the surface of the substrate that is immersed in the etchant, thereby using the force of the bubbles to clean and etch the surface of the substrate as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,136 B1 Kim enclosed herewith as reference. This process is time consuming and difficult to apply the bubbles evenly since there is no way to constrain the force of the bubbles uniformly, thereby the surface of the substrate is left with varying thicknesses which can cause further quality issues regarding the end product of the process. [0010] Another problem inherent in the process of etching is the transference of the substrate into the tank with the etchant, the subsequent handling of the substrate and the etchant material, and the overall environment created with tanks, sprays and the necessary equipment required to process said steps effectively within the clean room environment. [0011] Another method for Etching is the impingement of the substrate through some means as sand, glass beads or baking soda. This process engenders the need for further cleaning. [0012] Drying & Baking [0013] During a cleaning process involving water upon a substrate or device requiring such high tolerances as are required in the FPD and semiconductor industries the substrate will need to be dried. Critical to this process is no remaining moisture on the surface, and also to insure that there is no streaking and or impurities remaining on the surface of the substrate due to their presence in the cleaning solution which has then evaporated away, leaving them behind. Further, there are some processes within the aforementioned industries that require a baking process. This entails a higher order of heat and or application of radiant heat and light to enhance a process, or complete a curing of a coating, or similar elements. [0014] Conventional drying for FPD glass involves heating and placing the substrate within a chamber and causing the substrate to dwell there, while a heat source is applied to remove any moisture. Problems associated with un-even heating arise in that if the heat source is not applied evenly to the substrate surface, warping and or variations in the surface quality can occur, as well as areas where there is more rapid evaporation of the rinse water from the cleaning process, leaving behind streaks and or water spots. [0015] Still further, baking presents problems to the cleanliness of the clean room environment, since the presence of high heat sources can create unwanted particulate and contamination in clean room environments through the opening and closing of the chamber used to heat the substrates. [0016] Within the semi-conductor industry discreet chambers are used where the wafers can be dried, or baked. The substrate must be moved to those chambers. Likewise in the FPD market, drying is usually accomplished as part of the cleaning process in separate drying and baking chambers. [0017] Coating [0018] Various means of coating are employed in industry. A common method for coating is to pass the substrate beneath a curtain of material which deposits a material upon the substrate in an even thickness, or to have a type of "Shower head" which deposits an even layer of material on the substrate. This is unsatisfactory since the thickness of the coating and the processing parameters need to be controlled for precision applications, also since the size of the apparatus required for ever larger generations of glass is prohibitive, since such equipment must be operated in a clean room environment. Substrates can be dipped and or sprayed as well--neither of which is suitable for FPD glass, or semi-conductor industry products due to handling issues. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0019] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus utilizing the viscous shear force of aerostatic or hydrostatic fluids for cleaning, drying, baking, and etching glass substrate and semiconductor industry flat panel substrates that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. [0020] An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for cleaning, drying, coating, baking, and etching glass and semi-conductor substrates having a thin thickness and semi-uniform surface contained within an apparatus that allows for in-line processing and or controlled mini-environments for especially large panels. 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