Wet etching system

• US 20050241760A1
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Original Assignee: Innolux Display Corporation (InnoLux Corporation)
• Inventors: Huang, Chang-Kuei, Huang, Jung-Lung, Huang, Chih-Hung, Chen, Ching-Feng, Ou, Chen-Hsien, Gau, Sheng-Chou
• Application Number:
  US11/120,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20050241760A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 156/345.110
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67028 for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67161 characterized by the layout of the process chambers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67173 in-line arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67207 comprising a chamber adapted to a particular process

Abstract

A wet etching system includes a substrate holding chamber (211), a drying chamber (218), a cleaning chamber (217), a wet etching region, an elevator (213), a conveyor (212) arranged above the drying chamber. The cleaning chamber, and the wet etching region, the conveyor communicating with both the substrate holding chamber and the elevator. A substrate being transmitted along the conveyor can avoid shaking, vibration and other disturbances caused by high pressure cleaning. In addition, because the etching chambers are located relatively far away from the substrate holding chamber, there is reduced risk of substrates that are held in the substrate holding chamber being contaminated by chemical reagents used in the etching processes. Furthermore, when two wet etching systems are arranged substantially diagonally opposite each other, the interspace therebetween conveniently serves as a common access region for maintenance and cleaning of the wet etching systems.

Claims

1. A wet etching system, comprising:

a substrate holding chamber;

a drying chamber;

a cleaning chamber;

a wet etching region;

an elevator; and

a conveyor arranged above the drying chamber, the cleaning chamber, and the wet etching region, the conveyor communicating with both the substrate holding chamber and the elevator.

2. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a transmission region between the substrate holding chamber and the drying chamber.

3. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wet etching region comprises at least an etching chamber.

4. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the wet etching region comprises a first etching chamber, a second etching chamber, and a third etching chamber.

5. A wet etching system, comprising a substrate holding chamber and a wet etching region, the wet etching region defining a first horizontal transmission path, a vertical transmission path with an elevator, and a second horizontal transmission path with wet etching chambers sequentially provided therealong.

6. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 5, wherein a substrate can be transmitted from the substrate holding chamber to the elevator by a conveyor in the first horizontal transmission path.

7. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the substrate can be transmitted to the wet etching region by the elevator in the vertical transmission path.

8. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the substrate can be transmitted to the substrate holding chamber through the wet etching chambers and a cleaning chamber and a drying chamber in the second horizontal transmission path.

9. A wet etching system comprising:

a sub-system including;

a substrate holding chamber where an external raw substrate comes in for etching and an etched substrate goes out for next manufacturing;

an etching operation loop-like path defined in the system starting and terminating both at the substrate holding chamber;

a wet etching region, a cleaning chamber and a drying chamber being successively arranged in said operation path in sequence;

wherein

said operation path defines two levels.

10. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 9, wherein all said wet etching region, said cleaning chamber and said drying chamber are located at a same level.

11. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 10, wherein an elevator is located at one end of said sub-system to transport the substrate from one of the two levels to the other.

12. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the substrate is dry during transportation in said elevator.

13. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said substrate holding chamber is located at the other end of said sub-system opposite to said elevator.

14. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the operation path located at the same level is defined along only one direction.

15. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the wet etching region, the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber are arranged in the operation path along a direction back toward to the substrate holding chamber rather than away from the substrate holding chamber.

16. The wet etching system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sub-system is arranged to be an L-shaped configuration from a top view, and another sub-system is complementarily located aside.