Photoresist stripping apparatus and internal air circulating system thereof

Abstract

An apparatus for stripping photoresists from a substrate includes a reaction chamber, a plurality of air guiding means provided inside the reaction chamber, a pump for extracting air inside the reaction chamber, and a pipe for circulating and feeding the extracted air back into the reaction chamber. The upper and lower surfaces of the substrate are blown with the extracted air from the air guiding means.

1 . An apparatus for stripping photoresist from a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
 a chamber including an inlet, an outlet, and an opening;   a transmitting mechanism provided inside the chamber for moving the substrate into the chamber via the inlet and moving the substrate out of the chamber via the outlet;   a plurality of air guiding means provided inside the chamber at opposite sides of the inlet and opposite sides of the outlet; and   a pump communicating with the opening and the air guiding means for extracting air inside the chamber and feeding back the extracted air into the chamber via the air guiding means such that the substrate is blown with the extracted air from the air guiding means.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of nozzles above the transmitting mechanism, the nozzles are configured for spraying cleaning liquid over a surface of the substrate. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the cleaning fluid is selected from the group consisting of solvent, water, and any combination thereof. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the air guiding means are air knives. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the opening is above the chamber and near the outlet. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising a first unit communicating with the chamber for exhausting air inside the chamber. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising a second unit communicating with the chamber for feeding clean dry air into the chamber. 
   
   
       8 . An internal air recycling system in a photoresist stripping apparatus, the air recycling system comprising:
 a pump communicating with an opening of a chamber of the photoresist stripping apparatus for extracting air inside the chamber;   a pipe communicating with the pump for circulating the extracted air; and   a plurality of air knives communicating with the pump and the pipe;   wherein the extracted air is fed back into the chamber via the air knives.   
   
   
       9 . An apparatus for stripping photoresist from a substrate, comprising:
 a plurality of chambers each comprising an inlet, an outlet and an opening, the chambers being connected one after another such that the outlet of one chamber communicates with the inlet of a next adjacent chamber;   a transmitting mechanism provided inside the chambers for moving the substrate through the chambers;   a plurality groups of air guiding means, each group being provided inside a respective chamber, the air guiding means of each group being positioned at opposite sides of the inlet and opposite sides of the outlet of the chamber; and   a plurality of pumps each communicating with the opening and air guiding means of a respective chamber and configured for extracting air inside the chamber and feeding back the extracted air into the chamber via the air guiding means such that the substrate is blown by the extracted air from the air guiding means.   
   
   
       10 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein each of the chambers further comprising a plurality of nozzles provided above the transmitting mechanism, the nozzles are configured for spraying cleaning fluid over a surface of the substrate. 
   
   
       11 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 10 , wherein the cleaning fluid is selected from the group consisting of solvent, water, and any mixture thereof. 
   
   
       12 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein the air guiding means are air knives. 
   
   
       13 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein the opening of at least one of the chambers is provided above the chamber and near the outlet. 
   
   
       14 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 9 , further comprising an air feeding unit communicating with each of the chambers for feeding clean dry air into each of the chambers. 
   
   
       15 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 9 , further comprising an air exhaust unit communicating with each of the chambers for exhausting air inside the chambers.