Spin coating method and coating apparatus

• US 6,592,936 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2000
• Issued: 07/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TDK Corporation
• Original Assignee: TDK Corporation
• Inventors: Arioka, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Shrive P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JOLLEY, KIRSTEN
• Application Number:
  US09/508,520
• Publication Number:
  US 20020037366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,205 Days
• Field of Search: 427/240, 427/425, 427/162, 118/52, 118/320
• US Class Current: 427/162
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 15/50 Arrangements for cleaning; Arrangements for preventing deposits, drying-out or blockage; Arrangements for detecting improper discharge caused by the presence of foreign matter
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 11/08 Spreading liquid or other fluent material by manipulating the work, e.g. tilting
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/162 Coating on a rotating support, e.g. using a whirler or a spinner

Abstract

There are provided a spin coating method and an apparatus for forming a thin film having a uniform thickness on a substrate at a low cost in a process for manufacturing semiconductors, optical disks and the like. A coating solution is dropped onto the surface of a substrate (2) to be coated, mounted on a horizontal turn table (3) through a discharge nozzle (4) and the substrate is turned to form a thin film. After the coating solution is dropped through the nozzle, a stand-by nozzle tip (4a) is soaked and held in a nozzle soaking solution (10) having a composition near or equivalent to that of the coating solution. The crystal deposition of the solute is suppressed. Inter alia, the present invention is useful when a solution containing a solute having high crystallizability is coated.

Claims

1. A spin coating method in producing an optical disc, forming a thin film on a surface of an optical disc by dropping a coating solution having a coating solution composition of at least one solute and a solvent through discharge nozzle tip of the discharge nozzle onto the surface of the optical disc to be coated, mounted on a horizontal turn table and turning the optical disc, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a container having an opening sized and adapted to receive the discharge nozzle tip and a liquid nozzle soaking solution contained in the container, the liquid nozzle soaking solution having a nozzle soaking solution composition of either the at least one solute and the solvent contained in the coating solution or the at least one solute and a different solvent having a similar chemical structure of the solvent contained in the coating solution, the at least one solute in the liquid nozzle soaking solution having a concentration of approximately 10% to 200% of the concentration of at least one solute in the coating solution; and

soaking and holding the discharge nozzle tip in the liquid nozzle soaking solution.

2. The spin coating method in producing an optical disc according to claim 1, wherein the coating solution contains a light-absorbing dye as a solute main component.

3. A spin coating method in producing an optical disc, forming a thin film on a surface of an optical disc by dropping a coating solution through a nozzle tip of a discharge nozzle onto the surface of the optical disc to be coated which is mounted on a horizontal turn table and turning the optical disc, the coating solution having a coating solution composition of at least one solute and a solvent, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a container and a liquid nozzle soaking solution contained in the container, the liquid nozzle soaking solution having a nozzle soaking solution composition of either the at least one solute and the solvent contained in the coating solution or the at least one solute and a different solvent having a similar chemical structure of the solvent contained in the coating solution, the at least one solute in the liquid nozzle soaking solution having a concentration of approximately 10% to 200% of the concentration of the at least one solute in the coating solution;

moving the discharge nozzle away from the horizontal turn table after dropping the coating solution onto the surface of the optical disc into a soak-ready position above the container containing the liquid nozzle soaking solution;

moving the container towards the discharge nozzle, the container having an opening sized and adapted to receive at least the nozzle tip; and

stopping movement of the container in a soak position when the nozzle tip is immersed in the liquid nozzle soaking solution.

4. A spin coating method in producing an optical disc, forming a thin film on a surface of an optical disc by dropping a coating solution having a coating solution composition of at least one solute and a solvent through discharge nozzle tip of the discharge nozzle onto the surface of the optical disc to be coated, mounted on a horizontal turn table and turning the optical disc, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a container having an opening sized and adapted to receive the discharge nozzle tip and a liquid nozzle soaking solution contained in the container, the liquid nozzle soaking solution having a nozzle soaking solution composition of either the at least one solute and the solvent contained in the coating solution or the at least one solute and a different solvent having a similar chemical structure of the solvent contained in the coating solution, the at least one solute in the liquid nozzle soaking solution having a 100% concentration of the concentration of the at least one solute in the coating solution; and

soaking and holding the discharge nozzle tip in the liquid nozzle soaking solution.