CN110794651A

CN110794651A - Pattern drawing device

Info

Publication number: CN110794651A
Application number: CN201911069205.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 铃木智也; 奈良圭; 加藤正纪; 渡辺智行; 鬼头义昭; 堀正和; 林田洋祐; 小宫山弘树
Original assignee: Nikon Corp
Current assignee: Nikon Corp
Priority date: 2015-02-27
Filing date: 2016-02-26
Publication date: 2020-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 2036-02-26
Also published as: KR102206992B1; CN107209461A; HK1257065A1; TWI699624B; CN107209461B; JP2019049731A; KR20170121168A; JPWO2016136974A1; CN108919610A; TW202036178A; TW201702746A; JP6648798B2; CN110794651B; TWI720911B; CN108919610B; WO2016136974A1; JP6794980B2

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a rotating cylinder DR for carrying the substrate P in a carrying direction intersecting the width direction of the substrate P at a predetermined speed; a drawing device 11 having a plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5, scanning the drawing beams projected onto the substrate P along the drawing lines of the substrate P to draw a predetermined pattern on the substrate P, and arranging the drawing lines adjacent to each other in the width direction at a predetermined interval in the conveyance direction so that the patterns drawn on the substrate P by the respective drawing modules UW1 to UW5 are joined to each other in the width direction; an adjustment mechanism 24 for adjusting the inclination of the drawing line with respect to the width direction of the substrate P; and a rotational position detection mechanism for detecting the conveying speed of the substrate P; the relative inclination of the drawing line is adjusted by the rotation mechanism 24 based on the conveyance speed detected by the rotational position detection mechanism.

Description

Pattern drawing device

The present invention is a divisional application entitled "substrate processing apparatus, device manufacturing system, and device manufacturing method" filed 2016, 26.02/2016, and having an application number of 201680006570.9.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pattern drawing apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, as a substrate processing apparatus, a scanning type drawing apparatus for drawing a predetermined position on a sheet-like medium (substrate) is known (see, for example, document 1). The scanning type drawing device includes a drawing table, a laser light source, a light modulator, and a scanning optical system. The drawing table is transported in a transport direction (sub-scanning direction) with the medium placed thereon. The laser light source irradiates laser light to the light modulator. The optical Modulator modulates laser light irradiated from a laser light source using, for example, an Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM). And an optical modulator that deflects the laser beam by diffraction after being switched ON, and projects the laser beam onto the medium. On the other hand, after the optical modulator is switched OFF, the laser beam is not deflected and is not projected onto the medium. The scanning optical system scans the laser beam emitted from the optical modulator in a scanning direction along a predetermined scanning line from a scanning start end to a scanning end on the medium. Then, the scanning type drawing apparatus modulates the laser beam with the optical modulator while conveying the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the drawing table, and draws the medium by scanning the spot light of the laser beam modulated by the scanning optical system in the scanning direction.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2000 and 227661

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

Further, the substrate to be drawn becomes large as the device is large. If the substrate becomes larger, the pattern drawn on the substrate also becomes larger. Here, since the scanning type drawing device of patent document 1 draws with one scanning line, when the pattern drawn on the substrate becomes large, the scanning line formed by the spot light of the laser light becomes long. However, in the scanning type drawing device of patent document 1, since the length of the scanning line is limited, the size of the pattern drawn on the substrate is limited by the length of the scanning line.

Therefore, a multi-beam type drawing method for drawing a pattern on a substrate by a plurality of scanning lines (drawing lines) can be considered. In such a multi-beam type drawing system, a plurality of drawing lines are arranged in a direction of a scanning line, and patterns formed by the scanning lines are joined in a width direction orthogonal to a substrate conveyance direction, whereby a large pattern can be drawn on a substrate.

Even in the multi-beam type drawing method, since the pattern is drawn on the substrate by the plurality of drawing lines while the substrate is conveyed in the conveying direction, when the pattern drawn from the drawing start position to the drawing end position of each drawing line varies in speed at the conveyance speed of the substrate, the drawing start position and the drawing end position are located at different positions in the conveying direction by a difference in the order of micrometers. Therefore, a phenomenon in which the bonding accuracy between patterns adjacent to each other in the substrate width direction is deteriorated, that is, a bonding error may occur.

In view of the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention can favorably reduce bonding errors between patterns bonded in the substrate width direction even in a multi-beam type drawing system in which a plurality of drawing lines are connected.

Means for solving the problems

According to a1 st aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a substrate conveying device for supporting a substrate with a predetermined width and conveying the substrate at a predetermined speed in a conveying direction intersecting the width direction of the substrate; a drawing device including a plurality of drawing modules that draw a predetermined pattern on the substrate along drawing lines obtained by scanning, in the width direction, drawing light beams projected onto the substrate in a range narrower than the width of the substrate, the drawing lines adjacent to each other in the width direction being arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction so that the patterns drawn on the substrate by the plurality of drawing modules are joined to each other in the substrate width direction; a tilt adjusting mechanism for adjusting the tilt of the drawing line with respect to the width direction of the substrate; and a substrate speed detecting device for detecting the conveying speed of the substrate; the relative inclination of the drawing line is adjusted by the inclination adjusting mechanism based on the conveyance speed of the substrate detected by the substrate speed detecting device.

According to embodiment 2 of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing system including the substrate processing apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method, including: an operation of scanning the drawing light beam from each of the plurality of drawing modules onto a photosensitive layer formed on the substrate to draw a bonded pattern, using the substrate processing apparatus according to aspect 1; and an operation of forming a layer structure of elements corresponding to the bonded pattern on the substrate by processing the substrate.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an exposure apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the main part of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between the alignment microscope and the drawing line on the substrate.

Fig. 4 is a view showing the configuration of the rotary cylinder and the drawing device of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the main part of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a divergent optical system of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship of the scanners in the plurality of drawing modules provided in the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the arrangement relationship between the alignment microscope and the scribe line and the encoder head on the substrate.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a surface configuration of a rotating cylinder of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate and the drawing lines by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 1 and the drawing lines.

Fig. 12 is a view showing an image of CAD information used in the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 13 is a view showing a part of the configuration of an f- θ lens system of the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 14 is a view showing the configuration of a cylindrical lens of the f-theta lens system of fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2 and the drawing lines.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2 and the drawing lines.

Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 3 and the drawing lines.

Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate and the drawing lines when the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 4 does not perform the inclination correction of the drawing lines.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate and the drawing lines after the inclination correction of the drawing lines is performed by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 4.

Fig. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate and the drawing lines in the case where the inclination of the drawing lines is corrected by correcting the substrate conveyance speed unevenness in the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 4.

Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing a device manufacturing method using the exposure apparatus according to embodiments 1 to 4.

Reference numerals

1 element manufacturing system

11 drawing device

12 substrate conveying mechanism

13 device frame

14 rotation position detecting mechanism

16 control device

21 body frame

22 three point seat support

23 st optical bench

24 rotating mechanism

25 nd 2 optical bench

31 calibration detection system

44 XY integral halving adjusting mechanism

45 XY one-side halving adjusting mechanism

511/2 wave plate

52-polarization beam splitter

53 light diffuser

60 st beam splitter

62 nd 2 beam splitter

63 rd 3 beam splitter

73 th 4 beam splitter

81 light deflector

821/4 wave plate

83 scanner

84 bending mirror

85 f-theta lens system

Optical member for 86Y magnification correction

92 light screen

96 reflecting mirror

97 rotating polygonal mirror

98 origin detector

100 drive part

P substrate

U1, U2 processing unit

EX exposure device

AM1, AM2 alignment microscope

EVC temperature-regulating chamber

SU1, SU2 vibration-proof unit

E setting surface

EPC edge location controller

RT1, RT2 tension adjusting roller

DR rotating cylinder

AX2 center line of rotation

Sf2 axle part

p3 center plane

DL relaxation

UW 1-UW 5 drawing module

CNT light source device

LB rendering Beam

I rotating shaft

LL 1-LL 5 drawing line

PBS (polarizing beam splitter)

A7 Exposure field

SL divergence optical system (light beam distribution system)

Le 1-Le 4 set the azimuth line

Vw 1-Vw 6 observation area

Ks 1-Ks 3 alignment mark

GPa, GPb scale part

EN 1-EN 4 encoder readhead

PT 1-PT 5 Pattern

Detailed Description

The mode (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. The constituent elements described below include those which can be easily determined by a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and substantially the same. Further, the constituent elements described below may be appropriately combined. Various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the components may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[ embodiment 1 ]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an exposure apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) according to embodiment 1. The substrate processing apparatus according to embodiment 1 is an exposure apparatus EX for performing an exposure process on a substrate P, and the exposure apparatus EX is incorporated in a device manufacturing system 1 for performing various processes on the substrate P after exposure to manufacture a device. First, the element manufacturing system 1 is explained.

< element manufacturing System >

The device manufacturing system 1 is a manufacturing line (flexible electronic device manufacturing line) for manufacturing electronic devices such as a flexible display, a multilayer flexible wiring, and a flexible sensor as devices. In the following embodiments, a flexible display is used as an example of an electronic device. A flexible display, for example, an organic EL display. In this device manufacturing system 1, a flexible (flexible) long substrate P is fed from a supply roll (not shown) which is a roll, and after various kinds of processing are continuously applied to the fed substrate P, the processed substrate P is wound as a flexible device on a recovery roll (not shown), which is a so-called roll-to-roll system (Ro11 to Ro 11). In the device manufacturing system 1 of embodiment 1, a film-like sheet-like substrate P is fed from a supply reel, and the substrate P fed from the supply reel sequentially passes through the processing apparatus U1, the exposure apparatus EX, and the processing apparatus U2, and is then wound on a recovery reel. Here, a substrate P to be processed in the device manufacturing system 1 will be described.

The substrate P is, for example, a resin film, a foil (foil) made of metal such as stainless steel, or an alloy thereof. The resin film may be made of one or more materials selected from polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, ethylene-vinyl copolymer resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, cellulose resin, polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polycarbonate resin, polystyrene resin, and polyvinyl alcohol resin.

The substrate P is preferably selected such that the thermal expansion coefficient is not significantly large and substantially negligible, for example, the amount of deformation due to heat in various processes performed on the substrate P is substantially negligible. The coefficient of thermal expansion can be set to be smaller than a threshold value corresponding to a processing temperature or the like by, for example, mixing an inorganic filler with a resin film. The inorganic filler may be, for example, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, or the like. The substrate P may be a single-layer body of an extra thin glass having a thickness of about 100 μm manufactured by a float method or the like, or a laminate body in which the above-mentioned resin film, foil, or the like is laminated on the extra thin glass.

The substrate P configured in this manner is wound into a roll shape to be a supply roll, and the supply roll is mounted on the device manufacturing system 1. The component manufacturing system 1 equipped with a supply reel repeats various processes for manufacturing components on a substrate P fed in a longitudinal direction from the supply reel. Therefore, a pattern for a plurality of elements (for example, display panels for televisions and computers) is formed on the processed substrate P in a state of being connected at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. That is, the substrate P fed from the supply roll is a multi-surface substrate. The substrate P may be activated by modifying the surface thereof in advance by a predetermined pretreatment, or may have a fine barrier rib structure (uneven structure) formed on the surface for precise patterning.

The processed substrate P is wound into a roll and collected as a collection roll. The collection reel is attached to a cutting device, not shown. The cutting device equipped with the recovery reel cuts (cuts) the processed substrate P into individual elements, thereby forming a plurality of elements. The size of the substrate P, for example, is about 10cm to 2m in the width direction (short side direction), and the size in the longitudinal direction (long side direction) is sometimes several hundreds m to several thousands m, depending on the maximum diameter of the supply roll or the recovery roll that can be attached to the processing apparatus. The size of the substrate P (each of the short side and the long side) is not limited to the above size. Further, the substrate is not necessarily conveyed in a form in which the substrate is supplied from the supply reel and collected in the collection reel.

Next, the device manufacturing system 1 will be described with reference to fig. 1. The device manufacturing system 1 includes a processing apparatus U1, an exposure apparatus EX, and a processing apparatus U2. Fig. 1 is an orthogonal coordinate system in which the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal to each other. The X direction is a direction from the processing apparatus U1 to the processing apparatus U2 through the exposure apparatus EX in the horizontal plane. The Y direction is a direction orthogonal to the X direction in the horizontal plane and is a width direction of the substrate P. The Z direction is a direction (vertical direction) in which the X direction is orthogonal to the Y direction.

The processing apparatus U1 performs a pre-process (pre-processing) on the substrate P subjected to the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus EX. The processing apparatus U1 sends the pretreated substrate P to the exposure apparatus EX. At this time, the substrate P fed to the exposure apparatus EX has a photosensitive functional layer (photosensitive layer) formed on the surface thereof.

Here, the photosensitive functional layer is applied as a solution on the substrate P as such or selectively, and dried to become a layer (film). A typical photosensitive functional layer contains a photoresist, but as a material unnecessary after development treatment, a lyophilic modified photosensitive silane coupling agent (SAM) in a portion irradiated with ultraviolet rays, a photosensitive reducing material in which a reducing group is exposed in a portion irradiated with ultraviolet rays, or the like is used. When a photosensitive silane coupling agent is used as the photosensitive functional layer, since the pattern portion exposed to ultraviolet light on the substrate P is modified from liquid repellency to lyophilic, a conductive ink (ink containing conductive nanoparticles such as silver or copper) is selectively applied to the lyophilic portion to form a pattern layer. When a photosensitive reducing material is used as the photosensitive functional layer, since the plating reducing group is exposed at the pattern portion exposed to ultraviolet light on the substrate P, the substrate P is immersed in an electroless plating solution containing palladium ions or the like for a certain period of time immediately after the exposure to form (precipitate) a pattern layer of palladium.

The exposure apparatus EX draws a pattern of, for example, a circuit or wiring for a display panel on the substrate P supplied from the processing apparatus U1. As will be described later in detail, the exposure apparatus EX exposes a predetermined pattern on the substrate P by a plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 obtained by scanning each of a plurality of drawing beams LB in a predetermined scanning direction. The substrate P subjected to the exposure process by the exposure apparatus EX is sent to the processing apparatus U2, and the processing apparatus U2 performs a post-process (post-processing) on the substrate P. Thereby, a specific pattern layer of the electronic device is formed on the surface of the substrate P.

< Exposure apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) >

Next, the exposure apparatus EX will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 9. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the main part of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between the alignment microscope and the drawing line on the substrate. Fig. 4 is a view showing the configuration of the rotary cylinder and the drawing device of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the main part of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a divergent optical system of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship of the scanners provided in the drawing units of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the arrangement relationship between the alignment microscope and the encoder head for drawing lines on the substrate. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a surface configuration of a rotating cylinder of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the exposure apparatus EX forms a predetermined pattern by scanning a spot (spot) of a drawing beam LB in a predetermined scanning direction while conveying a substrate P in a conveying direction without using a mask, i.e., a so-called mask-less drawing exposure apparatus (line drawing exposure machine).

As shown in fig. 1, the exposure apparatus EX includes a drawing device 11, a substrate conveyance mechanism 12, alignment microscopes AM1, AM2, and a control device 16. The drawing device 11 draws a predetermined pattern on a part of the substrate P conveyed by the substrate conveyance mechanism 12 by the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW 5. The substrate transfer mechanism 12 transfers the substrate P transferred from the processing apparatus U1 in the preceding process to the processing apparatus U2 in the subsequent process at a predetermined speed. The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 detect alignment marks and the like formed in advance on the substrate P in order to perform relative position alignment (alignment) of the pattern to be drawn on the substrate P and the substrate P. The controller 16 controls each part of the exposure apparatus EX to perform a process on each part. The control device 16 may be a part or all of a host control device that controls the element manufacturing system 1. The control device 16 may be a device different from the upper control device and controlled by the upper control device. The control device 16 includes a computer, for example.

As shown in fig. 2, the exposure apparatus EX includes an apparatus frame 13 that supports the drawing apparatus 11 and the substrate conveyance mechanism 12, and a rotational position detection mechanism (see fig. 4 and 8 for detailed configuration) 14 that receives the apparatus frame 13 and measures the rotational position (angular position) of the rotating cylinder DR that is also a part of the substrate conveyance mechanism 12. Further, a light source device CNT for emitting a laser beam (pulse light) as a drawing beam LB is provided in the exposure apparatus EX. The drawing beam LB in the ultraviolet wavelength band emitted from the light source device CNT is aligned in a predetermined optical state in the drawing device 11 and scanned one-dimensionally by the optical scanning mechanism, and a spot beam having a predetermined diameter is projected onto the substrate P held and conveyed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR of the substrate conveying mechanism 12.

The exposure apparatus EX shown in fig. 1 is housed in a temperature-controlled chamber EVC. The temperature-controlled room EVC is installed on the installation surface E of the manufacturing plant by passive or active vibration-proof units SU1 and SU 2. The vibration isolation units SU1 and SU2 are provided on the installation surface E to reduce vibration from the installation surface E. The temperature control chamber EVC keeps the inside at a predetermined temperature, thereby suppressing the shape change of the substrate P conveyed inside due to the temperature.

Next, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the exposure apparatus EX will be described with reference to fig. 1. The substrate transport mechanism 12 includes, in order from the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate P, an edge position controller EPC, a drive roller DR4, a tension adjustment roller RT1, a rotating cylinder DR, a tension adjustment roller RT2, a drive roller DR6, and a drive roller DR 7.

The edge position controller EPC adjusts the position of the substrate P conveyed from the processing apparatus U1 in the width direction (Y direction). The edge position controller EPC is configured to move the substrate P in the width direction so that the position of the end (edge) of the substrate P in the width direction, which is sent from the processing apparatus U1, can be within a range of about ± tens of μm to tens of μm with respect to the target position, thereby correcting the position of the substrate P in the width direction. The accuracy of positioning the edge position controller EPC in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P is preferably within an adjustable range of the exposure position (drawing position), that is, a range in which the drawing device 11 can adjust the scanning position of the spot light.

The drive rollers DR4 rotate while holding both the front and back surfaces of the substrate P conveyed from the edge position controller EPC, and convey the substrate P to the downstream side in the conveying direction, so as to convey the substrate P to the rotating cylinder DR. The drum DR rotates about a rotation center line X2 around a rotation center line AX2 extending in the Y direction while supporting a portion of the substrate P to be exposed in a cylindrical surface shape, thereby conveying the substrate P. In order to rotate the rotating cylinder DR about the rotation center line AX2, shaft (draft) portions Sf2 coaxial with the rotation center line AX2 are provided on both sides of the rotating cylinder DR, and a rotational torque is applied to the shaft portions Sf2 from a drive source (a motor, a reduction gear mechanism, or the like) not shown. A plane passing through the rotation center line AX2 and extending in the Z direction is a center plane p 3. The 2 sets of tension adjusting rollers RT1 and RT2 apply a predetermined tension to the substrate P wound around and supported by the rotating cylinder DR. The 2 sets of driving rollers DR6 and DR7 are disposed at a predetermined interval in the conveyance direction of the substrate P, and apply a predetermined slack DL to the substrate P after exposure. The substrate P is conveyed to the processing apparatus U2 by rotating the upstream side of the substrate P conveyed while being held by the drive roller DR6 and rotating the downstream side of the substrate P conveyed while being held by the drive roller DR 7. At this time, since the substrate P is provided with the slack DL, the variation in the conveyance speed of the substrate P generated on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the drive roller DR6 can be absorbed, and the influence of the variation in the conveyance speed on the exposure process of the substrate P can be isolated.

Accordingly, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 can adjust the position of the substrate P transferred from the processing apparatus U1 in the width direction by the edge position controller EPC. The substrate transport mechanism 12 transports the substrate P whose position in the width direction is adjusted to the tension adjusting roller RT1 by the driving roller DR4, and transports the substrate P passing through the tension adjusting roller RT1 to the rotating cylinder DR. Thus, the substrate P is closely attached to and supported by the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR while a predetermined tension is applied in the longitudinal direction. The substrate conveyance mechanism 12 conveys the substrate P supported by the rotation cylinder DR to the tension adjustment rollers RT2 by rotating the rotation cylinder DR. The substrate conveying mechanism 12 conveys the substrate P conveyed to the tension adjusting roller RT2 to the drive roller DR6, and conveys the substrate P conveyed to the drive roller DR6 to the drive roller DR 7. Next, the substrate conveyance mechanism 12 conveys the substrate P to the processing apparatus U2 while applying slack DL to the substrate P by the drive roller DR6 and the drive roller DR 7.

Next, referring again to fig. 2, the apparatus frame 13 of the exposure apparatus EX will be described. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the main part of the exposure apparatus of fig. 1. In fig. 2, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal coordinate systems, which are the same orthogonal coordinate systems as those in fig. 1. The exposure apparatus EX includes a drawing apparatus 11 shown in fig. 1 and an apparatus frame 13 supporting a rotating cylinder DR of a substrate conveyance mechanism 12.

The apparatus frame 13 shown in fig. 2 includes a main body frame 21, a three-point mount support 22, a1 st optical bench 23, a rotation mechanism 24, and a2 nd optical bench 25 in this order from the lower side in the Z direction. The main body frame 21 is provided on the installation surface E by vibration isolation units SU1 and SU2 as shown in fig. 1. The main body frame 21 rotatably supports the rotary cylinder DR and tension adjustment rollers RT1 (not shown) and RT 2. The 1 st optical bench 23 is provided on the upper side in the vertical direction of the rotating cylinder DR, and is provided on the main body frame 21 through a three-point bearing support 22. The three-point mount support 22 dynamically supports the 1 st optical bench 23 at 3 support points (supported by steel balls and V-grooves), and the Z-direction position of each support point is adjustable. Therefore, the three-point mount support 22 can adjust the Z-direction height of the stage surface of the 1 st optical stage 23 or the inclination with respect to the horizontal plane. In addition, when the apparatus frame 13 is assembled, the position between the main body frame 21 and the three-point stand support portion 22 can be adjusted in the X direction and the Y direction within the XY plane. On the other hand, after the assembly of the apparatus frame 13, the main body frame 21 and the three-point seat support portion 22 are fixed (rigid state). However, in the case of alignment during maintenance or the like, the three-point seat support portion 22 is configured to be capable of being slightly moved in the XY direction on the main body frame 21 as necessary.

The 2 nd optical bench 25 is provided above the 1 st optical bench 23 in the vertical direction (Z direction), and is provided on the 1 st optical bench 23 via the rotation mechanism 24. A2 nd optical bench 25 having a bench face parallel to the bench face of the 1 st optical bench 23. The 2 nd optical stage 25 is provided with a plurality of (five in the present embodiment) drawing modules UW1 to UW5 of the drawing device 11. The rotation mechanism 24 is capable of precisely and slightly rotating the 2 nd optical stage 25 with respect to the 1 st optical stage 23 around a predetermined rotation axis I (also referred to as a rotation center line) extending in the Z direction while keeping the stage surfaces of the 1 st optical stage 23 and the 2 nd optical stage 25 parallel to each other. The rotation axis I extends in the Z direction in the center plane P3 in fig. 1 at a reference position and passes through a predetermined point wound on the surface of the substrate P (drawing plane curved along the circumferential surface) of the rotation cylinder DR (see fig. 3). The rotation mechanism 24 can precisely adjust the angular position of the rotation cylinder DR or the entire plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 in the XY plane with respect to the substrate P wound around the rotation cylinder DR by rotating the 2 nd optical stage 25 with respect to the 1 st optical stage 23.

The rotation mechanism 24 includes annular pedestals disposed on the upper surface side of the 1 st optical surface plate 23 and the lower surface side of the 2 nd optical surface plate 25 so as to face each other with the inner diameter of the portion of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 closest to the rotating cylinder DR, and bearing balls (rollers) rotatably provided between the annular pedestals.

Next, the light source device CNT shown in fig. 1, 4, and 5 will be described. The light source device CNT is disposed on the body frame 21 of the device frame 13. The laser beam for the drawing beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT is suitable for light in a predetermined wavelength band for exposure of the photosensitive functional layer on the substrate P and is set to an ultraviolet region having a strong photoactive action. As the light source, for example, a laser light source such as a YAG third harmonic laser (wavelength 355nm) that oscillates continuously or in pulses at a frequency of about 50 to 100MHz can be used.

As a high-output laser light source in the ultraviolet region, an excimer laser using a gas such as KrF, ArF, XeCL, or the like as a laser medium is typically known. In addition to this, the light source can be used for a solid-state light source such as a laser diode or a Light Emitting Diode (LED) having an oscillation peak in an ultraviolet region having a wavelength of 450nm or less. In the present embodiment, as an example, a laser light source is disclosed in international publication No. WO1999/046835 or international publication No. WO2001/020733, which converts light from a solid-state light source (pulse light in the infrared region) emitting long-wavelength light into ultraviolet pulse light (light emission time of about several picoseconds) having a wavelength of 355nm using a fiber amplifier and a nonlinear optical element.

The drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT is guided to each of the five drawing modules UW1 to UW5 by a light beam distribution system including a plurality of polarization beam splitters PBS, mirrors, and the like, as shown in fig. 4 and 5. The drawing light beam LB is preferably polarized in a state of substantially total reflection or substantially total transmission in the polarizing beam splitter in order to suppress energy loss due to transmission or reflection in the polarizing beam splitter.

Next, the drawing device 11 of the exposure apparatus EX will be described. The drawing device 11 is a so-called multi-beam type (also referred to as a multi-head type) drawing device 11 using a plurality of drawing modules (also referred to as drawing heads) UW1 to UW 5. The drawing device 11 splits the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT into a plurality of beams, and scans spot lights formed by the split drawing light beams LB along a plurality of (e.g., 5 in the 1 st embodiment) drawing lines LL1 to LL5 on the substrate P. The drawing device 11 bonds the patterns drawn on the substrate P by the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the width direction of the substrate P. First, referring to fig. 3, a plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P by scanning a plurality of drawing beams LB by the drawing device 11 will be described.

As shown in fig. 3, the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are arranged in 2 lines in the circumferential direction of the rotating cylinder DR with the center plane p3 therebetween. On the substrate P on the upstream side in the rotation direction, odd-numbered 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th drawing lines LL1, LL3 and LL5 are arranged. On the substrate P on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR, even-numbered 2 nd drawing lines LL2 and 4 th drawing line LL4 are arranged.

The drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are formed in the width direction (Y direction) of the substrate P, that is, along the rotation center line AX2 of the rotation cylinder DR, and are shorter than the substrate P in the width direction. Strictly speaking, the respective drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are inclined by a predetermined angle amount with respect to the rotation center line AX2 of the rotation cylinder DR, so that the bonding error of the pattern obtained by the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is minimized when the substrate P is conveyed by the substrate conveyance mechanism 12 at the reference speed.

Odd-numbered 1 st drawing line LL1, 3 rd drawing line LL3, and 5 th drawing line LL5 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotating cylinder DR. The even-numbered 2 nd drawing line LL2 and the 4 th drawing line LL4 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotating cylinder DR. At this time, the 2 nd drawing line LL2 is disposed between the 1 st drawing line LL1 and the 3 rd drawing line LL3 in the axial direction. Similarly, the 3 rd drawing line LL3 is disposed between the 2 nd drawing line LL2 and the 4 th drawing line LL4 in the axial direction. The 4 th drawing line LL4 is disposed between the 3 rd drawing line LL3 and the 5 th drawing line LL5 in the axial direction. In addition, the 1 st to 5 th drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are disposed so as to cover the full width in the Y direction of the exposure region a7 drawn on the substrate P.

The scanning directions (main scanning directions) of the spot lights of the drawing light beams LB scanned along the odd-numbered 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th scanning lines LL1, LL3 and LL5 are one-dimensional directions and the same direction. The scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the even-numbered 2 nd and 4 th drawing lines LL2 and LL4 is one-dimensional and the same direction. At this time, the scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 is the same direction as the scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the even-numbered drawing lines LL2, LL 4. Therefore, when viewed in the substrate P conveyance direction, the drawing start positions (spot light scanning start points) of the odd-numbered drawing lines LL3 and LL5 are adjacent to the drawing end positions (spot light scanning end points) of the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 (coincide with or partially overlap in the Y direction), and similarly, the drawing end positions of the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1 and LL3 are adjacent to the drawing start positions of the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 (coincide with or partially overlap in the Y direction).

Next, the drawing device 11 is explained with reference to fig. 4 to 7. The drawing device 11 includes the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5, a branching optical system (or also referred to as a light distribution system) SL for branching the drawing light beam LB from the light source device CNT, and a calibration detection system 31 for performing calibration.

The diverging optical system SL diverges the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT into a plurality of beams, and guides the plurality of diverged drawing light beams LB to the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5, respectively. The diverging optical system SL has a1 st optical system 41 for diverging the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT into 2, a2 nd optical system 42 for irradiating with one drawing light beam LB diverging from the 1 st optical system 41, and a3 rd optical system 43 for irradiating with the other drawing light beam LB diverging from the 1 st optical system 41. The splitting optical system SL includes an XY whole-bisection (shading) adjusting mechanism 44 for two-dimensionally traversing the split front beam LB in the 1 st optical system 41 in a plane perpendicular to the beam axis, and an XY single-side bisection adjusting mechanism 45 for two-dimensionally traversing the beam LB in the 3 rd optical system 43 in a plane perpendicular to the beam axis. The split optical system SL has a part on the light source CNT side provided on the main body frame 21, and the other parts on the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 side provided on the 2 nd optical bench 25.

The 1 st optical system 41 includes an 1/2 wavelength plate 51, a polarizing beam splitter 52, a beam splitter (beam splitter) 53, a1 st mirror 54, a1 st relay lens 55, a2 nd relay lens 56, a2 nd mirror 57, a3 rd mirror 58, a4 th mirror 59, and a1 st beam splitter 60.

The drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source unit CNT in the + X direction is irradiated to the 1/2 wavelength plate 51. The 1/2 wavelength plate 51 is rotatable within the irradiation plane of the drawing beam LB. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 1/2 wavelength plate 51 has a polarization direction corresponding to the predetermined polarization direction of the 1/2 wavelength plate 51. The drawing light beam LB having passed through the 1/2 wavelength plate 51 is irradiated to the polarizing beam splitter 52. The polarizing beam splitter 52 transmits the drawing light beam LB having the predetermined polarization direction, and reflects the drawing light beam LB other than the predetermined polarization direction in the + Y direction. Therefore, since the drawing light beam LB reflected by the polarizing beam splitter 52 passes through the 1/2 wavelength plate 51, the beam intensity of the drawing light beam LB can be adjusted by the cooperative operation of the 1/2 wavelength plate 51 and the polarizing beam splitter 52. That is, the 1/2 wavelength plate 51 is rotated to change the polarization direction of the drawing light beam LB, thereby adjusting the beam intensity of the drawing light beam LB reflected by the polarization beam splitter 52.

The drawing light beam LB having passed through the polarizing beam splitter 52 is absorbed by the diffuser 53, and the drawing light beam LB applied to the diffuser 53 is suppressed from leaking to the outside. The drawing light beam LB reflected in the + Y direction by the polarizing beam splitter 52 is irradiated to the 1 st mirror 54. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 1 st mirror 54 is reflected in the + X direction by the 1 st mirror 54, and is irradiated on the 2 nd mirror 57 via the 1 st relay lens 55 and the 2 nd relay lens 56. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 2 nd mirror 57 is reflected by the 2 nd mirror 57 in the-Y direction and irradiated on the 3 rd mirror 58. The drawing light beam LB applied to the 3 rd mirror 58 is reflected by the 3 rd mirror 58 in the-Z direction and applied to the 4 th mirror 59. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 4 th mirror 59 is reflected by the 4 th mirror 59 in the + Y direction and irradiated on the 1 st beam splitter 60. A part of the drawing beam LB irradiated to the 1 st beam splitter 60 is reflected in the-X direction and irradiated to the 2 nd optical system 42, while the other part thereof is transmitted and irradiated to the 3 rd optical system 43.

The 3 rd mirror 58 and the 4 th mirror 59 are provided at a predetermined interval on the rotation axis I of the rotation mechanism 24. Further, the configuration including the 3 rd mirror 58 to the light source device CNT (the portion surrounded by the two-dot chain line in the upper side in the Z direction in fig. 4) is provided on the main body frame 21 side, and the configuration including the 4 th mirror 59 to the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 (the portion surrounded by the two-dot chain line in the lower side in the Z direction in fig. 4) is provided on the 2 nd optical bench 25 side. Therefore, even if the 2 nd optical bench 25 is rotated relative to the 1 st optical bench 23 by the rotation mechanism 24, the optical path of the drawing light beam LB is not changed because the 3 rd mirror 58 and the 4 th mirror 59 are provided on the rotation axis I. Accordingly, even when the 2 nd optical bench 25 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 24 with respect to the 1 st optical bench 23, the drawing light beam LB emitted from the light source device CNT provided on the main body frame 21 side can be guided very appropriately to each of the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 provided on the 2 nd optical bench 25 side.

The 2 nd optical system 42 splits one of the drawing light fluxes LB split by the 1 st optical system 41 and guides the split light flux to odd-numbered drawing modules UW1, UW3, and UW5, which will be described later. The 2 nd optical system 42 has a 5 th mirror 61, a2 nd beam splitter 62, a3 rd beam splitter 63, and a6 th mirror 64.

The drawing beam LB reflected in the-X direction by the 1 st beam splitter 60 of the 1 st optical system 41 is irradiated to the 5 th mirror 61. The drawing beam LB irradiated on the 5 th mirror 61 is reflected by the 5 th mirror 61 in the-Y direction and irradiated on the 2 nd beam splitter 62. The drawing light beam LB applied to the 2 nd beam splitter 62 is partially reflected and applied to the odd-numbered 1 drawing modules UW5 (see fig. 5 and 6). The drawing beam LB applied to the 2 nd beam splitter 62 is partially transmitted and applied to the 3 rd beam splitter 63. A part of the drawing light beam LB applied to the 3 rd beam splitter 63 is reflected and applied to the odd-numbered 1 drawing modules UW3 (see fig. 5 and 6). The drawing beam LB applied to the 3 rd beam splitter 63 is partially transmitted and applied to the 6 th mirror 64. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 6 th mirror 64 is reflected by the 6 th mirror 64 and irradiated on the odd-numbered 1 drawing modules UW1 (see fig. 5 and 6). Further, the drawing beams LB irradiated to the odd-numbered drawing modules UW1, UW3, and UW5 are slightly inclined with respect to the-Z direction in the 2 nd optical system 42.

The 3 rd optical system 43 splits the other drawing light beam LB split by the 1 st beam splitter 60 of the 1 st optical system 41 and guides the split beam to even drawing modules UW2 and UW4 described later. The 3 rd optical system 43 has a7 th mirror 71, an 8 th mirror 72, a4 th beam splitter 73, and a 9 th mirror 74.

The drawing beam LB transmitted in the Y direction by the 1 st beam splitter 60 of the 1 st optical system 41 is irradiated to the 7 th mirror 71. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 7 th mirror 71 is reflected by the 7 th mirror 71 in the X direction, and is irradiated on the 8 th mirror 72. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 8 th mirror 72 is reflected by the 8 th mirror 72 in the-Y direction and irradiated on the 4 th beam splitter 73. A part of the drawing light beam LB applied to the 4 th beam splitter 73 is reflected and applied to the 1 drawing modules UW4 (see fig. 5 and 6) of even number. The drawing beam LB applied to the 4 th beam splitter 73 is partially transmitted and applied to the 9 th mirror 74. The drawing light beam LB irradiated on the 9 th mirror 74 is reflected by the 9 th mirror 74 and irradiated on the 1 drawing modules UW2 of even number. In addition, the drawing beams LB irradiated to the even-numbered drawing modules UW2 and UW4 are also slightly inclined with respect to the-Z direction in the 3 rd optical system 43.

As described above, the diverging optical system SL diverges the drawing light beam LB from the light source device CNT into a plurality of beams toward the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW 5. At this time, the reflectivities (transmittances) of the 1 st beam splitter 60, the 2 nd beam splitter 62, the 3 rd beam splitter 63, and the 4 th beam splitter 73 are adjusted to appropriate reflectivities depending on the number of diversions of the drawing beam LB so that the intensities of the drawing beams LB applied to the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 are the same.

The XY-total bisection adjusting mechanism 44 is disposed between the 2 nd relay lens 56 and the 2 nd mirror 57, as shown in fig. 6. The XY whole bisector adjusting mechanism 44 can two-dimensionally and slightly displace the beam LB incident on the 1 st beam splitter 60 in a plane perpendicular to the beam axis, and adjust the position of the beam passing through the 2 nd optical system 42 in particular. The XY-bisector adjustment mechanism 44 is constituted by a transparent parallel plate glass tiltable in the XZ plane of fig. 6 and a transparent parallel plate glass tiltable in the YZ plane of fig. 6. By adjusting the respective inclination amounts of the two parallel plate glasses, the light beam LB incident on the 1 st beam splitter 60 can be slightly displaced in the X direction or the Z direction in fig. 6.

The XY one-side halving adjustment mechanism 45 is disposed between the 7 th mirror 71 and the 8 th mirror 72. The XY single-side halving adjustment mechanism 45 can two-dimensionally and slightly displace the beam LB transmitted through the 1 st beam splitter 60 in a plane perpendicular to the beam axis, and adjust the position of the beam passing through the 3 rd optical system 43 in particular. The XY one-side halving adjustment mechanism 45 is constituted by a transparent parallel plate glass tiltable in the XZ plane of fig. 6 and a transparent parallel plate glass tiltable in the YZ plane of fig. 6, similarly to the XY whole halving adjustment mechanism 44. By adjusting the inclination amounts of the two parallel plate glasses, the positions of the drawing beams LB incident on the even-numbered drawing modules UW2 and UW4 can be slightly shifted. As is clear from the configuration of fig. 6, since the position displacement of the beam LB by the XY whole halving adjustment mechanism 44 also displaces the position of the beam LB which has passed through the 1 st beam splitter 60 and entered the 3 rd optical system 43, the position adjustment of the beams entered into the even numbered drawing modules UW2 and UW4 is performed by both the XY whole halving adjustment mechanism 44 and the XY one-side halving adjustment mechanism 45.

Further, referring to fig. 4, 5, and 7, a plurality of rendering modules UW1 to UW5 will be described. The plurality of rendering modules UW 1-UW 5 are arranged corresponding to the plurality of rendering lines LL 1-LL 5. The plurality of drawing light fluxes LB split by the splitting optical system SL are incident on the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5, respectively. Each of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 condenses the plurality of drawing light beams LB into spot light on each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5, and scans the spot light. That is, the 1 st drawing module UW1 directs the drawing beam LB to the 1 st drawing line LL1, and similarly, the 2 nd to 5 th drawing modules UW2 to UW5 direct the drawing beam LB to the 2 nd to 5 th drawing lines LL2 to LL 5.

As shown in fig. 4 (and fig. 1), the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 are arranged in 2 rows in the circumferential direction of the rotating cylinder DR with the center plane p3 therebetween. The plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 have the 1 st drawing module UW1, the 3 rd drawing module UW3, and the 5 th drawing module UW5 disposed on the sides (on the-X direction side in fig. 5) where the 1 st, 3 rd, and 5 th drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are disposed with the center plane p3 therebetween. The 1 st drawing module UW1, the 3 rd drawing module UW3, and the 5 th drawing module UW5 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the Y direction. Further, the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 have the 2 nd drawing module UW2 and the 4 th drawing module UW4 disposed on the sides (on the + X direction side in fig. 5) where the 2 nd and 4 th drawing lines LL2 and LL4 are disposed with the center plane p3 therebetween. The 2 nd rendering module UW2 is disposed between the 1 st rendering module UW1 and the 3 rd rendering module UW3 in the Y direction. Similarly, the 3 rd drawing module UW3 is disposed between the 2 nd drawing module UW2 and the 4 th drawing module UW4 in the Y direction. The 4 th drawing module UW4 is disposed between the 3 rd drawing module UW3 and the 5 th drawing module UW5 in the Y direction. As shown in fig. 4, the 1 st drawing module UW1, the 3 rd drawing module UW3, and the 5 th drawing module UW5, and the 2 nd drawing module UW2 and the 4 th drawing module UW4 are arranged symmetrically about the center plane p3 as viewed in the Y direction.

Next, description is made of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 with reference to fig. 4. Since the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 have the same configuration, the description will be given by taking the 1 st drawing module UW1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "drawing module UW 1") as an example.

The drawing module UW1 shown in fig. 4 is provided with a light deflector 81, a polarizing beam splitter PBS, a 1/4 wavelength plate 82, a scanner 83, a bending mirror 84, an f- θ lens system 85, and a Y-magnification correction optical member 86, in order to scan the drawing light beam LB along the drawing line LL1 (1 st drawing line LL 1). A calibration detection system 31 is provided adjacent to the deflection beam splitter PBS.

The light deflector 81 is configured, for example, by an acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM), and switches generation/non-generation of diffracted light of an incident light beam at a high speed, thereby switching projection/non-projection of the drawing light beam LB onto the substrate P at a high speed. Thereby, the intensity of the spot light irradiated on the substrate P is modulated in accordance with the pattern drawing information (serial bit line signal) applied to the modulator (AOM) 81. Specifically, the drawing light beam LB from the diverging optical system SL passes through the incident light deflector 81 which is slightly inclined with respect to the-Z direction by the relay lens 91. When the light deflector 81 is in the OFF state, the drawing light beam LB travels straight in an inclined state and is blocked by the light blocking plate 92 provided after passing through the light deflector 81. When the light deflector 81 is in the ON state, the diffracted drawing light beam LB is deflected in the-Z direction and enters the polarizing beam splitter PBS provided in the Z direction of the light deflector 81 through the light deflector 81. Therefore, the spot light of the drawing light beam LB is continuously projected onto the substrate P while the light deflector 81 is ON, and the projection of the spot light of the drawing light beam LB onto the substrate P is interrupted while the light deflector 81 is OFF.

The polarizing beam splitter PBS reflects the drawing light beam LB irradiated from the light deflector 81 through the relay lens 93. On the other hand, the polarizing beam splitter PBS operates in cooperation with an 1/4 wavelength plate 82 provided between the polarizing beam splitter PBS and the scanner 83, and passes through the drawing light beam LB reflected on the surface of the substrate P or the rotating cylinder DR. That is, the drawing light beam LB directed from the light deflector 81 to the polarizing beam splitter PBS is linearly polarized laser light of S polarization, and is reflected by the polarizing beam splitter PBS. The drawing light beam LB reflected by the polarizing beam splitter PBS passes through the 1/4 wavelength plate 82 as circularly polarized light and reaches the substrate P. A part of the drawing beam LB reflected on the surface of the substrate P or the rotating cylinder DR and returned through the f- θ lens system 85 or the scanner 83 is reflected and passes through the 1/4 wavelength plate 82 again, thereby becoming linearly polarized light of P-polarized light. Therefore, the reflected light of the drawing light beam LB irradiated from the substrate P to the polarizing beam splitter PBS passes through the polarizing beam splitter PBS. The reflected light of the drawing light beam LB transmitted through the polarizing beam splitter PBS is irradiated to the alignment detection system 31 through the relay lens 94. The drawing light beam LB transmitted through the relay lens system 93 and reflected by the polarizing beam splitter PBS passes through the 1/4 wavelength plate 82 and enters the scanner 83.

As shown in fig. 4 and 7, the scanner 83 includes a reflecting mirror 96, a rotary polygon mirror 97, and an origin detector 98. The drawing light beam LB (parallel light beam) having passed through the 1/4 wavelength plate 82 is transmitted through the relay lens 95 and irradiated onto the mirror 96. The drawing beam LB reflected by the reflecting mirror 96 is irradiated on the rotary polygon mirror 97. The rotary polygon mirror 97 includes a rotation shaft 97a extending in the Z direction, and a plurality of reflection surfaces (reflection planes) 97b formed around the rotation shaft 97 a. The rotary polygon mirror 97 rotates in a predetermined rotational direction about the rotational axis 97a, thereby continuously changing the reflection angle of the drawing beam LB irradiated on the reflection surface 97b, and thereby causing the reflected drawing beam LB to scan along the drawing line LL1 on the substrate P. The drawing beam LB reflected by the rotary polygon mirror 97 is applied to the bending mirror 84. The origin detector 98 detects the origin (predetermined scanning start point) of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing line LL1 of the substrate P. Origin detector 98 is disposed on the opposite side of mirror 96 with drawing light beam LB reflected by each reflecting surface 97b interposed therebetween. Therefore, the origin detector 98 detects the drawing beam LB before being irradiated to the f- θ lens system 85. That is, the origin detector 98 detects the angular position of the reflecting surface 97b immediately before the drawing start position of the drawing line LL1 on the substrate P irradiated with the spot light.

The drawing beam LB irradiated from the scanner 83 to the bending mirror 84 is reflected by the bending mirror 84 and irradiated to the f- θ lens system 85. The f-theta lens system 85 includes a telecentric f-theta lens, and projects the drawing light beam LB transmitted through the bending mirror 84 and reflected from the rotary polygon mirror 97 perpendicularly onto the drawing surface of the substrate P.

As shown in fig. 7, the plurality of scanners 83 in the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 are configured to be symmetrical with respect to the center plane p 3. And a plurality of scanners 83, 3 scanners 83 corresponding to the drawing modules UW1, UW3, and UW5 being disposed on the upstream side (on the-X direction side in fig. 7) in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR, and 2 scanners 83 corresponding to the drawing modules UW2, UW4 being disposed on the downstream side (on the + X direction side in fig. 7) in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR. The 3 scanners 83 on the upstream side and the 2 scanners 83 on the downstream side are arranged to face each other with the center plane p3 therebetween. At this time, the scanners 83 disposed on the upstream side and the scanners 83 disposed on the downstream side are disposed so as to face each other with the center plane p3 therebetween. The 3 rotary polygon mirrors 97 on the upstream side scan the drawing light beam LB while rotating leftward (counterclockwise) within XY, and thereby each point light projected on the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 scans in a predetermined scanning direction (for example, the + Y direction in fig. 7) from the drawing start position toward the drawing end position. On the other hand, when the 2 rotary polygon mirrors 97 on the downstream side scan the drawing light beam LB while rotating rightward (clockwise) within XY, the respective spot lights projected on the even-numbered drawing lines LL2, LL4 are scanned in the same scanning direction (+ Y direction) as the 3 drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 on the upstream side from the drawing start position toward the drawing end position.

Here, when viewed in the XZ plane of fig. 4, the axis of the drawing beam LB reaching the substrate P from the odd-numbered drawing modules UW1, UW3, and UW5 is aligned with the installation orientation line Le 1. That is, the direction line Le1 is provided, and lines connecting the odd numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 and the rotation center line AX2 are provided in the XZ plane. Similarly, when viewed in the XZ plane of fig. 4, the axis of the drawing beam LB reaching the substrate P from the even-numbered drawing modules UW2 and UW4 is in the same direction as the installation orientation line Le 2. That is, the azimuth line Le2 is provided, and lines connecting even numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 and the rotation center line AX2 are provided in the XZ plane.

The Y-magnification correcting optical member 86 is a combination of a cylindrical lens having positive refractive power in the Y direction and a cylindrical lens having negative refractive power in the Y direction, and is disposed between the f- θ lens system 85 and the substrate P. By slightly moving at least one of the plurality of cylindrical lenses constituting the Y magnification correction optical member 86 in the optical axis (axis of the drawing beam LB) direction of the f- θ lens system 85, the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed by the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 can be enlarged or reduced slightly in the Y direction, etc.

In the drawing device 11 configured in this manner, the control device 16 controls each part to draw a predetermined pattern on the substrate P. That is, while the drawing light beam LB projected ON the substrate P is being scanned in the scanning direction, the controller 16 deflects the drawing light beam LB by ON/OFF modulation of the optical deflector 81 based ON cad (computer Aided design) information of a pattern to be drawn ON the substrate P, thereby drawing the pattern ON the photosensitive layer of the substrate P. The controller 16 synchronizes the scanning direction (scanning start time) of the drawing beam LB scanned along the drawing line LL1 with the movement of the substrate P in the conveyance direction due to the rotation of the rotating cylinder DR, and thus draws a predetermined pattern in a portion of the exposure region a7 corresponding to the drawing line LL 1.

At this time, when the effective size (spot diameter) of the spot light on the substrate P of the drawing light beam LB projected from each of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 is D (μm) and the scanning speed of the spot light along the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is Vp (μm/sec), the light source device CNT sets the light emission repetition period T (sec) of the laser light source that emits pulsed light to T<D<The relationship of Vp. The effective size (diameter) of the spot light is a width at half maximum (full width at half maximum) or a relative peak value of 1/e in the intensity distribution in the main scanning direction of the spot light²The width of the intensity of (c).

Next, alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 as pattern detectors are described with reference to fig. 3 and 8. The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 detect alignment marks formed in advance on the substrate P or reference marks and reference patterns formed on the rotating cylinder DR in a predetermined observation area. Hereinafter, the alignment mark of the substrate P and the reference mark and the reference pattern of the rotating cylinder DR are simply referred to as marks. The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are used to align (align) the substrate P with a predetermined pattern drawn on the substrate P or to calibrate the rotary cylinder DR with the drawing apparatus 11.

The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are provided on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR with respect to the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed by the drawing device 11. The alignment microscope AM1 is disposed on the upstream side of the alignment microscope AM2 in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR.

The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are configured by an objective lens system GA as a detection probe for projecting illumination light onto the substrate P or the rotating cylinder DR and emitting the light generated by the mark, and an imaging system GD for imaging an image (such as a bright-field image, a dark-field image, and a fluorescent image) of the mark received through the objective lens system GA by a two-dimensional CCD, a CMOS, or the like. The illumination light for alignment is light in a wavelength band having almost no sensitivity to the photosensitive layer on the substrate P, for example, light having a wavelength of about 500 to 800 nm.

A plurality of alignment microscopes AM1 (for example, 3 alignment microscopes) are arranged in a line in the Y direction (the width direction of the substrate P). Similarly, a plurality of alignment microscopes AM2 (for example, 3 alignment microscopes) are provided in a row in the Y direction (the width direction of the substrate P). That is, a total of 6 alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 are provided.

In fig. 3, for easy understanding, the arrangement of the object lens systems GA1 to GA3 of the respective pairs of the 3 alignment microscopes AM1 is shown in the object lens systems GA of the 6 alignment microscopes AM1 and AM 2. As shown in fig. 3, the objective lens systems GA1 to GA3 of the 3 alignment microscopes AM1 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y direction parallel to the rotation center line AX2 with respect to observation regions (detection positions) Vw1 to Vw3 on the substrate P (or the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR). As shown in fig. 8, the optical axes La1 to La3 of the object lens systems GA1 to GA3 passing through the centers of the observation regions Vw1 to Vw3 are parallel to the XZ plane. Similarly, the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 of the object lens system GA of the 3 alignment microscopes AM2 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y direction parallel to the rotation center line AX2 as shown in fig. 3 with respect to the substrate P (or the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR). As shown in fig. 8, the optical axes La4 to La6 of the object lens systems GA passing through the centers of the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 are also parallel to the XZ plane. The observation regions Vw1 to Vw3 and the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR.

The alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 set the observation regions Vw1 to Vw6 of the marks in the diagonal range of, for example, 200 μm on the substrate P and the rotating cylinder DR. Here, the optical axes La1 to La3 of the alignment microscope AM1, that is, the optical axes La1 to La3 of the objective lens system GA are set in the same direction as the installation orientation line Le3 extending in the radial direction of the rotating cylinder DR from the rotation center line AX 2. That is, the orientation line Le3 is provided as a line connecting the observation regions Vw1 to Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the rotation center line AX2 when observed in the XZ plane of fig. 4. Similarly, the optical axes La4 to La6 of the alignment microscope AM2, that is, the optical axes La4 to La6 of the objective lens system GA are set in the same direction as the installation orientation line Le4 extending in the radial direction of the rotating cylinder DR from the rotation center line AX 2. That is, the orientation line Le4 is provided as a line connecting the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 of the alignment microscope AM2 and the rotation center line AX2 when observed in the XZ plane of fig. 4. At this time, since the alignment microscope AM1 is disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating cylinder DR than the alignment microscope AM2, the angle formed by the center plane p3 and the installation orientation line Le3 is larger than the angle formed by the center plane p3 and the installation orientation line Le 4.

As shown in fig. 3, the exposure regions a7 drawn by the 5 drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the X direction on the substrate P. Around the exposure region a7 on the substrate P, a plurality of alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 (hereinafter simply referred to as marks) for alignment are formed, for example, in a cross shape. Each of the drawing modules specifies the position on the substrate P of the pattern to be drawn based on the detection results of the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks2 by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, and aligns (corrects) the main scanning position of the spot light. For example, alignment may be performed after detecting a partial shape of a circuit pattern or the like formed on the substrate P by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM 2.

In fig. 3, the mark Ks1 is provided at regular intervals in the X direction in the-Y side peripheral region of the exposure region a7, and the mark Ks3 is provided at regular intervals in the X direction in the + Y side peripheral region of the exposure region a 7. Further, the mark Ks2 is provided at the center in the Y direction in the blank space between 2 exposure regions a7 adjacent in the X direction.

The mark Ks1 is formed so as to be sequentially captured in the observation region Vw1 of the objective lens system GA1 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the observation region Vw4 of the objective lens system GA of the alignment microscope AM2 during the transfer of the substrate P. The mark Ks3 is formed so as to be sequentially captured in the observation region Vw3 of the objective lens system GA3 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the observation region Vw6 of the objective lens system GA of the alignment microscope AM2 during the transfer of the substrate P. Further, the mark Ks2 is formed so as to be captured sequentially in the observation region Vw2 of the objective lens system GA2 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the observation region Vw5 of the objective lens system GA of the alignment microscope AM2 during the transfer of the substrate P.

Therefore, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 on both sides in the Y direction of the rotating cylinder DR in the 3 alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 can observe or detect the marks Ks1 and Ks3 formed on both sides in the width direction of the substrate P as needed. Further, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 at the center in the Y direction of the rotating cylinder DR out of the 3 alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 can observe or detect the mark Ks2 such as a space in the longitudinal direction between the exposure regions a7 drawn on the substrate P as needed.

Here, since the exposure apparatus EX is applied to the so-called multi-beam type drawing apparatus 11, in order to appropriately join a plurality of patterns drawn on the substrate P by the respective drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 in the Y direction, calibration is necessary to suppress the joining accuracy of the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 within an allowable range. The relative positional relationships of the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 with respect to the observation regions Vw1 to Vw6 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 are precisely determined by reference line management. Calibration is also required for this baseline management.

In the calibration for confirming the joining accuracy of the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 and the calibration for performing the reference line management of the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, a reference mark or a reference pattern is provided on at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR supporting the substrate P. Therefore, as shown in fig. 9, a rotating cylinder DR having a reference mark or a reference pattern on its outer circumferential surface is used in the exposure apparatus EX.

The rotating cylinder DR has scale portions GPa and GPb formed on both end sides of the outer peripheral surface thereof, which constitute a part of a rotational position detecting mechanism 14 described later. The rotating cylinder DR is provided with narrow regulation bands CLa and CLb formed by concave grooves or convex edges on the entire circumference inside the scale portions GPa and GPb. The Y-direction width of the substrate P is set to be smaller than the Y-direction interval of the 2 regulating belts CLa, CLb, and the substrate P is closely attached to and supported by the inner region sandwiched between the regulating belts CLa, CLb on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR.

The rotating cylinder DR is provided with a grid-like reference pattern (also usable as a reference mark) RMP formed by repeatedly scribing a plurality of line patterns RL1 inclined at +45 degrees with respect to the rotation center line AX2 and a plurality of line patterns RL2 inclined at-45 degrees with respect to the rotation center line AX2 at a constant pitch (period) Pf1 and Pf2 on the outer peripheral surface sandwiched between the regulation bands CLa and CLb. For example, the line widths LW of the line patterns RL1 and RL2 are set to about several μm to 20 μm, and the pitches (periods) Pf1 and Pf2 are set to about several tens μm to several hundreds μm.

The reference pattern RMP is a diagonal pattern (diagonal lattice pattern) uniform over the entire surface to avoid variations in friction, tension, and the like of the substrate P at the contact portion between the substrate P and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR. The line patterns RL1 and RL2 do not necessarily have to be inclined at 45 degrees, and the line pattern RL1 may be parallel to the Y axis and the line pattern RL2 may be a vertical and horizontal grid pattern parallel to the X axis. It is not necessary to intersect the line patterns RL1, RL2 at 90 degrees, and the line patterns RL1, RL2 may intersect at an angle other than a square (or rectangle) in a rectangular region surrounded by the adjacent 2 line patterns RL1 and the adjacent 2 line patterns RL 2.

Next, the rotational position detection mechanism 14 will be described with reference to fig. 3, 4, and 8. As shown in fig. 8, the rotational position detecting means 14 optically detects the rotational position of the rotating cylinder DR, and is applicable to an encoder system using, for example, a rotary encoder. The rotational position detection mechanism 14 includes scale portions GPa and GPb provided at both ends of the rotating cylinder DR, and a plurality of encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 facing the scale portions GPa and GPb, respectively. In fig. 4 and 8, only 4 encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 are shown facing scale GPa, but encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 facing scale GPb are also shown.

The scale portions GPa and GPb are formed in annular shapes over the entire circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR. The scale portions GPa and GPb are diffraction gratings in which concave or convex grid lines are engraved at a constant pitch (for example, 20 μm) in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR, and are configured as incremental (incremental) type scales. In the present embodiment, the grid lines (scale marks) of the scale portions GPa and GPb and the reference pattern RMP shown in fig. 9 are formed simultaneously by a device (a patterning device or the like) that machines the surface of the rotating cylinder DR, and therefore, a unique positional relationship can be established on the micrometer scale. Further, an origin mark is provided at one circumferential position of the scale portions GPa and GPb, and each of the encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 has a function of detecting the origin mark and outputting an origin signal. Therefore, the origin mark is also in a positional relationship (known angular positional relationship) unique in the circumferential direction with respect to the reference pattern RMP.

The substrate P is wound inside the regulating belts CLa and CLb, which are inside the scale portions GPa and GPb away from both ends of the rotating cylinder DR. If a strict arrangement relationship is required, the outer circumferential surfaces of the scale portions GPa and GPb are set to be flush with the outer circumferential surface of the portion of the substrate P wound around the rotating cylinder DR (to have the same radius from the center line AX 2). To achieve this, the outer circumferential surfaces of the scale portions GPa and GPb may be made larger than the outer circumferential surface for substrate winding of the rotating cylinder DR by the thickness of the substrate P in the radial direction. Therefore, the outer peripheral surfaces of the scale portions GPa and GPb formed on the rotating cylinder DR can be set to have substantially the same radius as the outer peripheral surface of the substrate P. Accordingly, encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 can detect scale portions GPa and GPb at the same radial position as the drawing surface on substrate P wound around rotating cylinder DR, and reduce the abbe error caused by the difference in the radial direction between the measurement position and the processing position. In the case where the scale portions GPa and GPb cannot be formed directly on both ends of the rotating cylinder DR, a scale disk having scale portions GPa and GPb formed on the outer peripheral surface of a disk-shaped member having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the rotating cylinder DR may be coaxially attached to the shaft portion Sf2 of the rotating cylinder DR.

The encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 are arranged around the scale portions GPa and GPb, respectively, as viewed from the rotation center line AX2, at different positions in the circumferential direction of the rotating cylinder DR. The encoder read heads EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4 are connected to the control device 16. The encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 project the measuring beams toward the scale portions GPa and GPb, photoelectrically detect the reflected beams (diffracted beams) thereof, and output detection signals (for example, 2-phase signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees) corresponding to the circumferential position changes of the scale portions GPa and GPb to the controller 16. The controller 16 can measure the angular change of the rotating cylinder DR, that is, the circumferential position change of the outer peripheral surface thereof, with a resolution of submicron order by performing digital processing by interpolating the detection signal by a not-shown counting circuit. At this time, the controller 16 may measure the transfer speed of the substrate P in the rotating cylinder DR from the change in the angle of the rotating cylinder DR.

As shown in fig. 4 and 8, encoder head EN1 is disposed on installation orientation line Le 1. A direction line Le1 is provided, which is a line connecting a projection area (reading position) of the measuring beam of the encoder head EN1 on the scale gpa (gpb) and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. As described above, the orientation line Le1 is provided, and is a line connecting the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 and the rotation center line AX2 within the XZ plane. As can be seen from the above, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN1 and the rotation center line AX2 and the lines connecting the drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 and the rotation center line AX2 are the same lines of orientation (the same orientation when viewed from the center axis AX 2).

Similarly, as shown in fig. 4 and 8, encoder head EN2 is disposed on installation orientation line Le 2. A direction line Le2 is provided, which is a line connecting a projection area (reading position) of the measuring beam of the encoder head EN2 on the scale gpa (gpb) and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. As described above, the orientation line Le2 is provided, and is a line connecting the drawing lines LL2 and LL4 and the rotation center line AX2 within the XZ plane. As can be seen from the above, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN2 and the rotation center line AX2 and the lines connecting the drawing lines LL2, LL4 and the rotation center line AX2 are the same lines of orientation (the same orientation when viewed from the center axis AX 2).

As shown in fig. 4 and 8, encoder head EN3 is disposed on installation orientation line Le 3. A direction line Le3 is provided, which is a line connecting a projection area (reading position) of the measuring beam of the encoder head EN3 on the scale gpa (gpb) and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. As described above, the orientation line Le3 is provided as a line connecting the observation regions Vw1 to Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1 with the substrate P and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. As is clear from the above, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN3 and the rotation center line AX2 and the lines connecting the observation regions Vw1 to Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1 and the rotation center line AX2 are the same azimuth line (the same azimuth when viewed from the center axis AX 2). With this configuration, when viewed in a direction extending from the rotation center axis AX2, the measurement region of the encoder head EN3 on the scale portions GPa and GPb and the observation regions Vw1 to Vw3 of the alignment microscope AM1 are at the same position in the circumferential direction of the rotating cylinder DR.

Similarly, as shown in fig. 4 and 8, encoder head EN4 is disposed on installation orientation line Le 4. A direction line Le4 is provided, which is a line connecting a projection area (reading position) of the measuring beam of the encoder head EN4 on the scale gpa (gpb) and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. As described above, the orientation line Le4 is provided as a line connecting the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 of the alignment microscope AM2 with the substrate P and the rotation center line AX2 in the XZ plane. As is clear from the above, the line connecting the reading position of the encoder head EN4 and the rotation center line AX2 and the lines connecting the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 of the alignment microscope AM2 and the rotation center line AX2 are the same azimuth line (the same azimuth when viewed from the center axis AX 2). With this configuration, when viewed in a direction extending from the rotation center axis AX2, the measurement region of the encoder head EN4 on the scale portions GPa and GPb and the observation regions Vw4 to Vw6 of the alignment microscope AM2 are at the same position in the circumferential direction of the rotating cylinder DR.

When the installation orientations of encoder heads EN1, EN2, EN3, and EN4 (angular directions in the XZ plane centered on rotation center line AX2) are indicated by installation azimuth lines Le1, Le2, Le3, and Le4, as shown in fig. 4, a plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 and encoder heads EN1 and EN2 are arranged such that the installation azimuth lines Le1 and Le2 are at an angle ± θ ° with respect to the center plane p 3.

Here, the controller 16 controls the drawing start positions using the odd-numbered and even-numbered drawing modules UW1 to UW5 based on the rotational angle positions of the scale portions (rotating cylinders DR) GPa and GPb detected by the encoder heads EN1 and EN2 and the counter circuit, that is, the circumferential movement position or amount of movement of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR. That is, while the control device 16 performs ON/OFF modulation of the light deflector 81 based ON the CAD information of the pattern to be drawn ON the substrate P during scanning of the drawing light beam LB projected ON the substrate P in the scanning direction, the start timing of the ON/OFF modulation of the CAD information for 1 scan using the light deflector 81 may be performed based ON the detected rotational angle position, whereby the pattern can be drawn ON the photosensitive layer of the substrate P with good accuracy.

The controller 16 stores the rotational angle positions of the scale portions GPa and GPb (rotating cylinder DR) detected by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4 when the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 on the substrate P are detected by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, and can determine the correspondence between the positions of the alignment marks Ks1 to Ks3 on the substrate P and the rotational angle position of the rotating cylinder DR. Similarly, when the reference pattern RMP on the rotating cylinder DR is detected by the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2, the controller 16 stores the rotation angle positions of the scale parts GPa and GPb (rotating cylinder DR) detected by the encoder heads EN3 and EN4, and thereby can determine the correspondence relationship between the position of the reference pattern RMP on the rotating cylinder DR and the rotation angle position of the rotating cylinder DR. As described above, the alignment microscopes AM1 and AM2 can precisely measure the rotational angle position (or circumferential position) of the rotating cylinder DR at the moment when the reference mark or the marker is sampled (sampled) in the observation regions Vw1 to Vw 6. In the exposure apparatus EX, that is, based on the measurement result, the alignment (registration) of the substrate P and the predetermined pattern drawn on the substrate P, or the positional relationship between the rotary cylinder DR and the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 of the drawing apparatus 11 are calibrated.

Further, the multi-beam exposure apparatus EX scans the spot light of the drawing beam LB along the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 on the substrate P while conveying the substrate P in the conveyance direction. Here, when the scanning directions of the drawing beams LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are the same direction and the lines of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are set to be precisely parallel to the central plane P3 (the central axis AX2), the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on the substrate P by the plurality of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are patterns as shown in fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is an exaggerated illustration of an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern and the drawing lines drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus of embodiment 1. In fig. 10, the drawing is developed in the transport direction (Xs direction) of the substrate P, and therefore, the Xs direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal coordinate systems. In fig. 10, the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 and the patterns PT1 to PT5 are thickened in the conveyance direction of the substrate P in order to easily understand the relationship between the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 and the patterns PT1 to PT 5.

As shown in fig. 10, the spot light of the drawing beam LB projected onto the substrate P from each of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 is scanned in the + Y direction from the drawing start position PO1 to the drawing end position PO2 along the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. At this time, the spot lights of the drawing light beam LB are in the same direction in the scanning direction along the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. Therefore, when viewed from the conveyance direction Xs of the substrate P, the end portions PTa of the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed at the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 and the end portions PTb of the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed at the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are adjacent to each other at the patterns PT1 to PT5 adjacent to each other in the width direction of the substrate P.

Here, patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on substrate P when spot light of drawing beam LB scans substrate P once are formed to be slightly inclined because substrate P is transported at a constant speed in the transport direction. The inclination amount is shown in an exaggerated manner in fig. 10, but is represented by a ratio Vxs/Vp of the transport speed Vxs of the substrate P and the scanning speed Vp of the spot beam of the drawing beam LB. The scanning speed Vp is proportional to the rotation speed rv (rps) of the rotary polygon mirror 97 as the scanner 83, and when the reflection surface of the rotary polygon mirror 97 is 8 surfaces, the substantial scanning period of each reflection surface is 40%, and the length of the drawing line (LL1 to LL5) is yl (mm), for example, the scanning speed Vp (mm/S) of the spot light is obtained by the following equation:

Vp＝(8·Rv·YL)/0.4＝20·Rv·YL〔mm/S〕

when the rotational polygon mirror 97 rotates at 6000 rpm (the rotational speed Rv is 100rps) and the length YL is 50mm, the scanning speed Vp is 10 ten thousand mm/S. When the conveyance speed Vxs of the substrate P is 50mm/S, the amount of inclination Vxs/Vp of the drawing line on the substrate P is 1/2000. This inclination means that both ends in the Y direction of the drawing line (drawing start point PO1 and drawing end point PO2) are shifted by 25 μm in the Xs direction on the substrate P. Of course, if the rotation speed Rv of the rotary polygon mirror 97 is increased and the transport speed Vxs of the substrate P is decreased, the amount of inclination Vxs/Vp of the drawing line can be made small, but in order to make the amount of displacement in the Xs direction of both ends in the Y direction of the drawing line (the drawing start point PO1 and the drawing end point PO2) a fraction of the minimum line width of the pattern to be drawn, the rotation speed Rv of the rotary polygon mirror 97 must be made several times or more and the transport speed Vxs of the substrate P must be greatly decreased. That is, end portions PTa of patterns PT1 to PT5 formed at drawing start position PO1 of drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are formed further downstream in the conveying direction than end portions PTb of patterns PT1 to PT5 formed at drawing end position PO2 of drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. Therefore, end portions PTa and PTb of patterns PT1 to PT5 are located at different positions in the conveying direction. In this case, the patterns PT1 to PT5 bonded in the width direction of the substrate P cause a bonding error in the conveyance direction between the adjacent patterns PT1 to PT 5.

As described above, when the scanning speed Vp of the spot beam of the drawing beam LB in the main scanning direction is constant, the bonding errors of the patterns PT1 to PT5 occur because the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P does not become an inclination corresponding to the substrate P conveyance speed. Here, the inclinations of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P are adjusted before the drawing by the exposure apparatus EX and at the time of the drawing by the exposure apparatus EX.

Specifically, before the drawing (for example, during alignment) by the exposure apparatus EX, the exposure apparatus EX conveys the substrate P at a reference speed (Vxs) of a preset reference. In this case, the reference speed may be appropriately changed depending on the substrate P to be used. For example, when the sensitivity of the photosensitive layer applied to the substrate P is low, the exposure amount may be increased by repeating the main scanning with spot light a plurality of times while lowering the reference speed. Therefore, in order to join the patterns PT1 to PT5 to the substrate P at a very suitable width direction for the substrate transported at the reference speed, the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are adjusted to be inclined appropriately with respect to the center plane P3 (the center axis AX2) in accordance with the reference speed set for the substrate P.

In the drawing operation by the exposure apparatus EX, although the rotation driving of the rotation cylinder DR is controlled so that the conveyance speed of the substrate P becomes the reference speed, in this case, the conveyance speed of the substrate P to be conveyed may slightly vary from the reference speed depending on the rotation cycle of the rotation cylinder DR due to the structure of the rotation bearing portion of the rotation cylinder DR (bearing characteristics) or the rotation driving mechanism (torque characteristics of the motor, characteristics of the reduction gear, and the like). That is, the speed of the substrate P conveyed by the rotating cylinder DR is periodically varied. Thus, in order to join the patterns PT1 to PT5 very suitably in the width direction of the substrate P for the substrate P having a slightly varying speed from the reference speed, a configuration (control system) can be assembled in which the respective lines LL1 to LL5 are dynamically (active) inclined in accordance with the variation in the conveyance speed of the substrate P.

Next, adjustment of the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P will be described with reference to fig. 11.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 1 and the drawing lines. In the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 1, the 2 nd optical stage 25 is rotated relative to the 1 st optical stage 23 by the rotation mechanism 24, thereby tilting the entire drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the width direction of the substrate P. That is, the rotation mechanism 24 functions as a tilt adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

The rotation mechanism 24 rotates the 2 nd optical stage 25 with respect to the 1 st optical stage 23, thereby rotating the drawing device 11 with respect to the substrate P about the rotation axis I. After the drawing device 11 rotates about the rotation axis I, the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are inclined with respect to the substrate P width direction (i.e., the rotation center line AX2 or the center plane P3 of the rotation cylinder DR) without changing their positional relationship.

Here, the tilt adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 when the patterns PT1 to PT5 are joined in the substrate P width direction with respect to the substrate P conveyed at the reference speed at the time of alignment of the exposure apparatus EX will be described. As shown in fig. 11, the controller 16 rotates the rotation mechanism 24 based on the reference speed of the substrate P detected by the rotation position detecting mechanism 14. Here, the reference speed of the substrate P corresponds to the amount of rotation of the rotating mechanism 24. This rotation amount is the rotation amount by which the end portions PTa and PTb of the patterns PT1 to PT5 are at the same position in the conveyance direction, that is, the rotation amount (inclination amount) by which the patterns PT1 to PT5 are formed along the width direction of the substrate P. That is, the controller 16 rotates the rotating mechanism 24 based on the rotation amount corresponding to the reference speed of the substrate P to be detected. Specifically, when the patterns PT1 to PT5 shown in fig. 10 are formed, the controller 16 rotates the rotation mechanism 24 in accordance with the reference speed of the substrate P, thereby rotating the drawing device 11 relative to the substrate P such that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction.

As shown in fig. 11, when the rotation mechanism 24 tilts the entire drawing lines LL1 to LL5 without changing the positional relationship between the drawing lines LL1 to LL5, the drawing lines LL1 and LL5 on the sides farther from the rotation axis I have a larger amount of movement in the conveyance direction, while the drawing lines LL3 on the sides closer to the rotation axis I have a smaller amount of movement in the conveyance direction. That is, the drawing line LL1 moves greatly to the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and the drawing line LL2 moves slightly to the upstream side in the conveyance direction. The drawing line LL3 has substantially no movement in the conveyance direction. The drawing line LL4 slightly moves downstream in the conveyance direction, and the drawing line LL5 greatly moves downstream in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P by the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 rotated by the rotation mechanism 24 (after the inclination correction) are formed without inclination in substantially the same direction as the width direction of the substrate P as shown by the broken line in fig. 11.

On the other hand, the patterns PT1 to PT5 exposed after rotation (after tilt correction) are formed at slightly different positions in accordance with the tilts of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. That is, pattern PT5 is formed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to pattern PT4, pattern PT4 is formed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to pattern PT3, pattern PT3 is formed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to pattern PT2, and pattern PT2 is formed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to pattern PT 1. As described above, when drawing device 11 is rotated by rotation mechanism 24 about rotation axis I, rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 are different in position in the conveyance direction, and thus rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 are shifted by a predetermined amount in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the controller 16 corrects the positions of the rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 in the conveying direction by controlling the drawing timing of each of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 based on the reference speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. That is, the reference speed of the substrate P also corresponds to the correction amount at the drawing time. Here, the control device 16 corrects the CAD information used for drawing the substrate P in the conveyance direction in order to correct the drawing timing.

Fig. 12 is a view showing an image of CAD information used in the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 1. In fig. 12, CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 corresponding to the patterns PT1 to PT5 shown in fig. 11 are shown as CAD information of the patterns to be drawn on the substrate P. The CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 shown by the broken lines in fig. 12 are CAD1 to CAD5 of CAD patterns (original data on design) before correction at the drawing time point, and the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 shown by the solid lines in fig. 12 are CAD1 to CAD5 after correction at the drawing time point.

As indicated by the broken lines in fig. 12, the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 before correction are stored in the memory circuit for drawing data (bit patterns) so as to draw in the same arrangement as the patterns PT1 to PT5 to be drawn on the substrate P, and are located at the same position in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. Therefore, the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 before correction are arranged in a line along the width direction of the substrate P.

The control device 16 corrects the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 before the correction in the conveying direction with the CAD patterns CAD5 as a reference so that the rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 shown in fig. 11 are at the same position in the conveying direction, that is, so that the end portions PTa, PTb of the patterns PT1 to PT5 are joined to each other. That is, as shown by the solid line in fig. 12, the controller 16 corrects the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 before correction in the conveyance direction in accordance with the amount of positional displacement of the patterns PT1 to PT5 in the conveyance direction after rotation shown in fig. 11. This correction is performed, for example, by shifting the start time of reading out the drawing data (bit pattern) of each of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 before correction from the memory circuit.

Since the amounts of shift in the conveyance direction of the patterns PT1 to PT5 indicated by the broken lines in fig. 11 correspond to the conveyance speed of the substrate P as described above, the control device 16 corrects the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 in the conveyance direction (such as a shift in the timing of starting reading of drawing data) in accordance with the conveyance speed of the substrate P. In the CAD information after correction, CAD pattern CAD5 is located upstream in the conveyance direction with respect to CAD pattern CAD4, CAD pattern CAD4 is located upstream in the conveyance direction with respect to CAD pattern CAD3, CAD pattern CAD3 is located upstream in the conveyance direction with respect to CAD pattern CAD2, and CAD pattern CAD2 is located upstream in the conveyance direction with respect to CAD pattern CAD 1. The control device 16 corrects the other CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD4 based on the CAD pattern CAD5, but may correct the other CAD patterns CAD1 to 4.

In this way, the controller 16 corrects the positions of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 shown by the solid line in fig. 12 in the conveyance direction in accordance with the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting mechanism 14 at the time of alignment of the exposure apparatus EX, and thereby can draw the patterns PT1 to PT5 shown by the solid line in fig. 11 on the substrate P.

The tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 during alignment of the exposure apparatus EX can be adjusted by manually rotating the rotation mechanism 24, or by controlling the rotation mechanism 24 by driving the control device 16.

Next, the inclination adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 when the patterns PT1 to PT5 are joined in the width direction of the substrate P when the substrate P is conveyed while the speed is slightly changed from the reference speed due to the speed unevenness at the time of drawing by the exposure apparatus EX will be described. As shown in fig. 11, the rotation mechanism 24 perfectly bonds the patterns PT1 to PT5 in the width direction of the substrate P by inclining the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 by a predetermined degree with respect to the width direction of the substrate P, with respect to the substrate P conveyed at the reference speed.

After the substrate P is conveyed at a conveyance speed higher than the reference speed from the state shown in fig. 11, the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on the substrate P are formed obliquely as shown in fig. 10. That is, the end portions PTa of the patterns PT1 to PT5 are formed on the downstream side in the conveying direction than the end portions PTb of the patterns PT1 to PT 5. On the other hand, after the substrate P is conveyed at a conveyance speed slower than the reference speed, the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on the substrate P are formed to be inclined (inclined downward to the right in fig. 10) in the opposite direction to the patterns PT1 to PT5 shown in fig. 10. That is, the end portions PTa of the patterns PT1 to PT5 are formed on the upstream side in the conveying direction from the end portions PTb of the patterns PT1 to PT 5.

When the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection means 14 becomes faster than the reference speed, the control device 16 rotates the rotation mechanism 24 so that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located more upstream in the conveyance direction than the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 at the reference speed, and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located more downstream in the conveyance direction than the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 at the reference speed, thereby further rotating the whole of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 clockwise from the state shown in fig. 11. After the rotation mechanism 24 is rotated, the positions of the rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 are shifted in the conveyance direction, and the patterns PT1 to PT4 are located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the patterns PT2 to PT 5. Therefore, the control device 16 corrects the drawing timing (the reading start timing for reading the drawing data from the memory circuit) in the conveying direction using the CAD information drawn on the substrate P such that the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD4 are located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the CAD patterns CAD2 to CAD 5.

On the other hand, when the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection means 14 is slower than the reference speed, the control device 16 rotates the rotation mechanism 24 such that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the reference speed, and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the reference speed. After the rotation mechanism 24 is rotated, the positions of the rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 are shifted in the conveyance direction, and the patterns PT1 to PT4 are located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the patterns PT2 to PT 5. Therefore, the control device 16 corrects the drawing timing (the reading start timing for reading the drawing data from the memory circuit) in the conveying direction using the CAD information drawn on the substrate P such that the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD4 are located on the upstream side in the conveying direction from the CAD patterns CAD2 to CAD 5.

As described above, even if the substrate P is conveyed at the same time at a slightly varying speed from the reference speed due to speed unevenness during the drawing by the exposure apparatus EX, the controller 16 can adjust the overall inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 based on the difference between the conveyance speed detected by the rotational position detecting means 14 and the reference speed. The controller 16 corrects the positions of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 in the conveyance direction (correction drawing start timing) using the amounts of displacement of the rotated patterns PT1 to PT5 in the conveyance direction as correction amounts, thereby drawing the patterns PT1 to PT5 on the substrate P in a state where the patterns PT1 to PT5 are linearly connected in the width direction of the substrate P.

The rotation amount of the rotating mechanism 24 is preferably determined in advance based on the reference speed and the transfer speed of the substrate P. Similarly, the correction amount of the CAD information is preferably obtained in advance based on the reference speed and the transfer speed of the substrate P. Further, the reference speed of the substrate P, the displacement from the reference speed, the rotation amount of the rotation mechanism 24, and the correction amount of the CAD information may be obtained as a correlation map for establishing a correlation. When the positions of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 in the transport direction are corrected (correction drawing start time), drawing of the respective drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is started (drawing data starts to be accessed from the memory circuit) based on the angular position (transport position of the substrate P) of the rotating cylinder DR detected by the encoder heads EN1 and EN2 (rotational position detecting means 14) having high resolution shown in fig. 4 and 8. Specifically, the controller 16 calculates the shift amount in the conveyance direction between the drawing start position PO1 and the drawing end position PO2 of each of the patterns PT1 to PT5 that may be generated after the rotation correction by the rotation mechanism 24, that is, generates corrected position information obtained by adding ± Δ Xs correction corresponding to the shift amount to the angular position of the rotating cylinder DR detected by each of the encoder heads EN1 and EN 2. Then, drawing of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is started based on the corrected position information (the drawing data is started to be accessed from the memory circuit).

As described above, in embodiment 1, the tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 can be adjusted by rotating the 2 nd optical bench 25 by the rotation mechanism 24 based on the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection mechanism 14. Therefore, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be linearly formed along the width direction of the substrate P by the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. After the rotation of the 2 nd optical stage 25 by the rotation mechanism 24, the drawing timing of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 is corrected, so that the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be positioned at the same position in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. Therefore, since the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be corrected so as to be joined very suitably in the width direction and the conveyance direction (longitudinal direction) of the substrate P, a joining error due to a speed variation can be suppressed.

In embodiment 1, the control device 16 can immediately rotate the rotation mechanism 24 in accordance with the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection mechanism 14. Therefore, even during the drawing by the exposure apparatus EX, the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P can be adjusted, and the occurrence of a bonding error due to the periodic speed variation of the rotating cylinder DR can be suppressed.

In embodiment 1, when the substrate P is conveyed at a speed higher than the reference speed, the patterns PT1 to PT5 can be corrected very suitably by inclining the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the width direction of the substrate P to the upstream side of the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 at the reference speed and to the downstream side of the drawing end position PO 2. When the substrate P is transported at a speed slower than the reference speed, the patterns PT1 to PT5 can be corrected very appropriately by inclining the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the width direction of the substrate P to the downstream side of the drawing start position PO1 and the upstream side of the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 at the reference speed.

In embodiment 1, since the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 can be configured to include the optical deflector 81 and the scanner 83, the drawing light beam LB can be scanned in one dimension along the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

In embodiment 1, by rotating the drawing device 11 provided on the 2 nd optical table 25 by the rotation mechanism 24, the inclinations of all the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 can be adjusted while maintaining the positional relationship between the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. Therefore, the control device 16 only needs to control the rotation of the rotation mechanism 24, and thus the configuration related to the control can be made simple.

In embodiment 1, when the size (spot diameter) of the drawing beam LB projected from each of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 on the substrate P is D (μm) and the scanning speed of the drawing beam LB along the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is Vp (μm/sec), the light source device CNT can set the light emission repetition period T (sec) of the laser light source that emits pulsed light to a relationship of T < D/Vp. Therefore, since the drawing light beam LB can be scanned in the scanning direction while the spot light of the drawing light beam LB is repeated ON the substrate P, the drawing line of the drawing light beam LB is drawn as a continuous line without interruption in the scanning direction while the light deflector 81 is in the ON state.

In embodiment 1, the tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is adjusted in the width direction of the substrate P by rotating the 2 nd optical table 25 by the rotating mechanism 24 to rotate the drawing device 11 relative to the substrate P. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 may be adjusted relative to the width direction of the substrate P. That is, the exposure apparatus EX may be configured to rotate the rotation center line AX2 of the rotation cylinder DR in the XY plane about the rotation axis I. In this case, in the transport path of the substrate P, rollers RT1 and RT2 (fig. 1) disposed at least before and after the rotating cylinder DR are also integrally rotated in the XY plane around the rotating axis I.

[ embodiment 2 ]

Next, an exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 2 will be described with reference to fig. 13 to 16. In embodiment 2, in order to avoid redundant description with embodiment 1, only the portions different from embodiment 1 will be described, and the same components as those in embodiment 1 will be given the same reference numerals as those in embodiment 1, and the description thereof will not be repeated. Fig. 13 is a view showing a part of the configuration of an f- θ lens system of the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2. Fig. 14 is a view showing the configuration of a cylindrical lens of the f-theta lens system of fig. 13. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2 and the drawing lines. Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern and the drawing lines drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 2. In the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 1, the tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is adjusted as a whole by rotating the 2 nd optical stage 25 by the rotation mechanism 24. In contrast, the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 2 individually adjusts the inclination of each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

In the exposure apparatus EX of embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. 13, the f-theta lens system 85 includes a telecentric f-theta lens 85a and a cylindrical lens 85 b. In fig. 13, the lenses other than the telecentric f- θ lens 85a and the cylindrical lens 85b in the f- θ lens system 85 are not shown.

The telecentric f- θ lens 85a makes the irradiated drawing beam LB parallel in the XZ plane and convergent in the Y direction (scanning direction). The drawing beam LB, which is parallel light in the XZ plane, is irradiated to the cylindrical lens 85 b. The cylindrical lens 85b is provided between the telecentric f-theta lens 85a and the substrate P. The cylindrical lens 85b has a generatrix substantially parallel to the scanning direction in which the drawing line LL1 (the same applies to LL2 to LL5) extends, and condenses the drawing beam LB into a spot light with a predetermined magnification (refractive power) in a direction perpendicular to the generatrix. As shown in fig. 14, the cylindrical lens 85b is rotatable about the rotation axes I1 to I5 to finely adjust the inclination of the respective lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P. The rotation axes I1 to I5 are rotation axes centered on predetermined points within the drawing plane including the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 formed on the substrate P. The rotation axes I1 to I5 are, for example, rotation axes centered on the centers of the directions in which the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 extend, and are in the same direction as the axis of the drawing beam LB. That is, the rotation axes I1, I3, I5 of the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 are in the same direction as the set bearing line Le1, and the rotation axes I2, I4 of the even-numbered drawing lines LL2, LL4 are in the same direction as the set bearing line Le 2. The cylindrical lens 85b is rotated about the rotation axes I1 to I5 by the drive unit 100, and the rotation of the cylindrical lens 85b is controlled by the control device 16 connected to the drive unit 100. With the rotation about the rotation axes I1 to I5 of the cylindrical lens 85b, the principal rays of the drawing light flux projected onto the substrate P through both ends in the bus line direction (Y direction) of the cylindrical lens 85b with respect to the principal rays of the drawing light flux projected onto the substrate P through the vicinity of the rotation axes I1 to I5 can be slightly inclined in the direction orthogonal to both the bus line of the cylindrical lens 85b and the rotation axes I1 to I5, and therefore the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 on the substrate P can be slightly inclined.

Next, adjustment of the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P will be described with reference to fig. 15. In the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 2, the cylindrical lens 85b is rotated by the driving unit 100, thereby tilting the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P. That is, the cylindrical lens 85b functions as a drawing line rotating mechanism for adjusting the tilt of each of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

The driving unit 100 rotates the cylindrical lenses 85b around the rotation axes I1 to I5, respectively, thereby tilting the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 with respect to the width direction of the substrate P.

Here, the tilt adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 when the patterns PT1 to PT5 are joined in the width direction of the substrate P with respect to the substrate P conveyed at the reference speed before the drawing by the exposure apparatus EX (for example, at the time of alignment) will be described. Since the inclination adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in embodiment 2 is substantially the same as the inclination adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in embodiment 1, a part of the description of the overlapping portions will be omitted. As shown in fig. 15, the controller 16 controls the driving unit 100 to rotate the cylindrical lens 85b based on the reference speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. At this time, similarly, the reference speed of the substrate P corresponds to the rotation amount of the cylindrical lens 85 b. Specifically, the controller 16 rotates the cylindrical lens 85b with respect to the substrate P so that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction, by rotating the cylindrical lens 85b in accordance with the reference speed of the substrate P.

As shown in fig. 15, after the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are respectively tilted about the rotation axes I1 to I5, the positions of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the conveyance direction are not substantially changed. Therefore, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P by the rotated drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are linearly formed in substantially the same direction as the width direction of the substrate P as shown by the solid lines in fig. 15, and are at the same position in the substrate P conveyance direction. As described above, the patterns PT1 to PT5 are formed in a row in the width direction of the substrate P.

Next, the inclination adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 when the patterns PT1 to PT5 are joined in the width direction of the substrate P when the substrate P is conveyed while the speed is slightly changed from the reference speed due to the speed unevenness at the time of drawing by the exposure apparatus EX will be described. Since the inclination adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in embodiment 2 is substantially the same as the inclination adjustment of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in embodiment 1, a part of the description of the overlapping portions will be omitted. As shown in fig. 15, the driving unit 100 very appropriately bonds the patterns PT1 to PT5 in the width direction of the substrate P by inclining the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 by a predetermined degree with respect to the width direction of the substrate P, with respect to the substrate P conveyed at the reference speed.

After the substrate P is conveyed at a conveyance speed higher than the reference speed from the state shown in fig. 15, patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on the substrate P are formed obliquely so that the end portion PTa is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the end portion PTb. On the other hand, after the substrate P is conveyed at a conveyance speed slower than the reference speed, the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on the substrate P are formed obliquely so that the end portion PTa is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the end portion PTb.

When the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection mechanism 14 becomes faster than the reference speed, the control device 16 controls the driving unit 100 of each cylindrical lens 85b to tilt the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 so that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located more upstream in the conveyance direction than the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 at the reference speed and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located more downstream in the conveyance direction than the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 at the reference speed, as in embodiment 1. On the other hand, when the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection mechanism 14 is slower than the reference speed, the control device 16 controls the drive unit 100 of each cylindrical lens 85b to incline the drawing line such that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the reference speed, and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the reference speed.

Here, the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 2 individually adjusts the tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. Therefore, the tilt can be adjusted by dividing the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 of the upstream (odd-numbered) drawing modules UW1 and UW3 and UW5 and the drawing lines LL2 and LL4 of the downstream (even-numbered) drawing modules UW2 and UW4, respectively, with the center plane p3 interposed therebetween.

The speed unevenness generated in the writing of the exposure apparatus EX may vary in the circumferential direction rotation position of the rotating cylinder DR. Specifically, the conveyance speed of the substrate P on which the orientation line Le1 is provided may be different from the conveyance speed of the substrate P on which the orientation line Le2 is provided. In this case, the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are inclined with respect to the substrate P in the same manner as the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL 4. As described above, for example, as shown in fig. 16, patterns PT1, PT3, and PT5 formed by odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are formed along the width direction of the substrate P, while patterns PT2 and PT4 formed by even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 are formed obliquely to the width direction of the substrate P as shown by the broken lines in fig. 16. This is because the odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are provided separately from the even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 in the Xs direction, and therefore, there is a time difference corresponding to the substrate P conveyance speed in drawing a pattern in the same region in the Xs direction to be drawn on the substrate P.

The controller 16 detects the conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le1 detected by the encoder head EN1 of the rotational position detecting mechanism 14, and detects the conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le2 detected by the encoder head EN2 of the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. Next, the controller 16 detects a speed difference between the detected conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le1 and the detected conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le 2. In this manner, the controller 16 includes a function as a speed difference detecting means for detecting a speed difference between the conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le1 and the conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le 2. Next, the controller 16 controls the driving unit 100 of the cylindrical lens 85b provided in each of the even drawing modules UW2 and UW4 to adjust the tilt of the even drawing lines LL2 and LL4 based on the detected speed difference. The patterns PT2, PT4 exposed on the substrate P after the rotation adjustment of the cylindrical lens 85b are formed linearly along the width direction of the substrate P, similarly to the patterns PT1, PT3, PT 5.

As described above, according to embodiment 2, the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 can be adjusted by rotating the cylindrical lens 85b by the driving unit 100 based on the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. Therefore, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be linearly formed along the width direction of the substrate P by the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1 to LL5, and the patterns can be aligned in the same position in the substrate P conveyance direction. Accordingly, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be corrected so as to be joined very suitably in the width direction and the conveyance direction (longitudinal direction) of the substrate P, and joining errors due to variations in the conveyance speed of the substrate P can be further suppressed.

In embodiment 2, a mechanism (drawing line rotating mechanism) for adjusting the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 can be a simple configuration including the driving unit 100 and the cylindrical lens 85 b.

In embodiment 2, the speed difference between the conveyance speed of the upstream (odd) drawing modules UW1, UW3, and drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 of UW5 and the conveyance speed of the downstream (even) drawing modules UW2, and LL2 and LL4 of UW4 is detected, and the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is adjusted in accordance with the detected speed difference. Therefore, even when the substrate P conveyance speed during drawing is different between the drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 of the odd-numbered drawing modules UW1, UW3, UW5 and the drawing lines LL2, LL2, LL4 of the even-numbered drawing modules UW2, UW4, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be corrected so as to be very suitably joined in the substrate P width direction and the substrate P conveyance direction and exposed to light, and therefore, a joining error due to a speed variation can be suppressed.

In embodiment 2, the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are rotated around the rotation axes I1 to I5, but the rotation center is not particularly limited. For example, the rotation axes I1 to I5 may be set to the drawing start position PO1 or the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

[ embodiment 3 ]

Next, an exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 3 will be described with reference to fig. 17. In addition, in embodiment 3, in order to avoid redundant description with embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, only the portions different from embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 will be described, and the same reference numerals as those in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 are assigned to the same components as those in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, and description thereof will be omitted. Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 3 and the drawing lines. The exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 1 adjusts the tilt of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 as a whole by rotating the 2 nd optical stage 25 by the rotation mechanism 24. In contrast, the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 3 adjusts the drawing timing without changing the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

In the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 3, as shown in fig. 17, the control device 16 corrects the drawing timing in accordance with the conveyance speed or conveyance position of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detection mechanism 14. In addition, the correction of the drawing timing is the same as that of embodiment 1, and CAD information used for drawing the substrate P is corrected in the conveyance direction as shown in fig. 12. That is, the controller 16 corrects the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 in the conveyance direction so that the end portions PTa and PTb of the patterns PT1 to PT5 of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 corresponding to the patterns PT1 to PT5 formed on the substrate P are joined to each other.

In this way, the controller 16 corrects the positions of the CAD patterns CAD1 to CAD5 shown by the solid line in fig. 12 in the conveyance direction in accordance with the conveyance speed or conveyance position of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting means 14 at the time of alignment or drawing by the exposure apparatus EX, and thereby can draw the patterns PT1 to PT5 shown in fig. 17 on the substrate P.

As described above, in embodiment 3, the drawing timing of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 can be corrected based on the conveyance speed or conveyance position of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. Therefore, although patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on substrate P are inclined with respect to the width direction of substrate P, since the patterns can be corrected so as to be bonded in the width direction of substrate P, bonding errors due to speed unevenness can be suppressed.

[ 4 th embodiment ]

Next, an exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 4 will be described with reference to fig. 18. In addition, in embodiment 4, in order to avoid redundant description with respect to embodiments 1 to 3, only the portions different from embodiments 1 to 3 will be described, and the same components as those in embodiments 1 to 3 will be given the same reference numerals as those in embodiments 1 to 3, and description thereof will not be repeated. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement relationship between the pattern drawn on the substrate by the exposure apparatus according to embodiment 4 and the drawing lines. In the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiments 1 to 3, the scanning directions of the drawing beams LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are all the same. In contrast, in the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 4, the scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 of the odd-numbered drawing modules UW1, UW3, and UW5 is opposite to the scanning direction of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL2, and LL4 of the even-numbered drawing modules UW2, UW 4.

In the exposure apparatus EX according to embodiment 4, as shown in fig. 18, the spot light of the drawing beam LB projected onto the substrate P from each of the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 is scanned in the Y direction from the drawing start position PO1 to the drawing end position PO2 along the straight drawing lines LL1 to LL 5. At this time, the scanning direction of the spot light of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1, LL3, LL5 is opposite to the scanning direction of the spot light of the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL2, LL 4. This can be achieved by rotating the rotary polygon mirror 97 of each drawing module shown in fig. 7 in the same direction (for example, in the counterclockwise direction).

Therefore, patterns PT1, PT3, and PT5 formed on the substrate P by the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 (set on a straight line parallel to the center plane P3) are formed to be inclined upward to the right in the paper surface of fig. 18, for example, due to the influence of the substrate P conveyance speed. That is, the right end PTa of the patterns PT1, PT3, PT5 is formed on the downstream side in the conveying direction than the left end PTb of the patterns PT1, PT3, PT 5. On the other hand, patterns PT2 and PT4 formed on the substrate P by the drawing beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL2 and LL45 (set on a straight line parallel to the center plane P3) are formed to be inclined upward to the left in the paper surface of fig. 18 in the direction opposite to the patterns PT1, PT3, and PT5, under the influence of the substrate P conveyance speed. That is, the right end PTb of the patterns PT2 and PT4 is formed on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the left end PTa of the pattern PT4 with respect to the pattern PT 2.

Further, when the Xs direction interval between odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 and even-numbered drawing lines LL2 and LL4 is constant, the substrate P conveyance speed is not varied, and the rotational speeds of the rotary polygon mirror 97 of the respective drawing modules are identical, the end PTb on the left side of the pattern PT1 drawn by the drawing line LL1 and the end PTb on the right side of the pattern PT2 drawn by the drawing line LL2 are joined to the conveyance direction (Xs direction) in the substrate P width direction (Y direction). Similarly, the end PTa on the left side of pattern PT2 depicted by plot line LL2 and the end PTa on the right side of pattern PT3 depicted by plot line LL3 are also joined in the Y direction and the Xs direction, the end PTb on the left side of pattern PT3 depicted by plot line LL3 and the end PTb on the right side of pattern PT4 depicted by plot line LL4 are also joined in the Y direction and the Xs direction, and the end PTa on the left side of pattern PT4 depicted by plot line LL4 and the end PTa on the right side of pattern PT5 depicted by plot line LL5 are also joined in the Y direction and the Xs direction.

As shown in embodiment 4, if the scanning direction of the spot light of the drawing beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 is set to be opposite to the scanning direction of the spot light of the drawing beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL2 and LL4, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be bonded in the width direction of the substrate P (Y axis) even if the patterns PT1 to PT5 are slightly inclined with respect to the width direction of the substrate P as long as there is no variation in the substrate P conveyance speed.

Fig. 19 shows a case where the slight inclination of each of the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P is corrected as shown in fig. 18, and here, similarly to the case of the previous embodiment 2 (fig. 14), the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 is individually adjusted by slightly rotating the cylindrical lens 85b of the f- θ lens system 85 around the rotation axes I1 to I5 by the driving unit 100.

As shown in fig. 19, the cylindrical lenses 85b in the drawing modules UW1, UW3, and UW5 are rotated by the driving unit 100 with respect to the substrate P such that the drawing start position PO1 of the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction (-Xs direction), and the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 is located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction (+ Xs direction). On the other hand, the cylindrical lens 85b is rotated by the driving unit 100 with respect to the substrate P such that the drawing line LL2, the drawing start position PO1 of LL4 are located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction (-Xs direction), the drawing line LL2, and the drawing end position PO2 of LL4 are located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction (+ Xs direction).

As shown in fig. 19, after the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are respectively tilted about the rotation axes I1 to I5, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P by the rotated drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are formed linearly in substantially the same direction as the width direction of the substrate P as shown by the solid lines in fig. 19, and are at the same position in the conveyance direction (Xs direction) of the substrate P. As described above, the drawn patterns PT1 to PT5 are linearly connected to each other in the width direction of the substrate P to form a line as long as the substrate P conveyance speed is precisely constant and there is no speed variation. In addition, although the same as embodiment 2, the points where the rotation axes I1, I3, I5 of the cylindrical lens 85b of the odd-numbered f-theta lens system 85 intersect the Y-Xs plane are located on a line parallel to the Y axis.

In the drawing by the exposure apparatus EX, when the carrying speed of the substrate P on which the orientation line Le1 is provided is different from the carrying speed of the substrate P on which the orientation line Le2 is provided, as in embodiment 2, for example, as shown by the solid line in fig. 20, patterns PT1, PT3, and PT5 formed by odd-numbered drawing lines LL1, LL3, and LL5 are formed along the width direction of the substrate P, while, as shown by the broken line in fig. 20, patterns PT2 and PT4 formed by even-numbered drawing lines LL2, LL4 are formed obliquely with respect to the width direction of the substrate P.

Therefore, the controller 16 detects a speed difference between the conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le1 detected by the encoder head EN1 of the rotational position detecting mechanism 14 and the conveyance speed of the substrate P at the set orientation line Le2 detected by the encoder head EN2 of the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. Next, the controller 16 adjusts the inclination of the even drawing lines LL2 and LL4 based on the detected speed difference. The rotated patterns PT2 and PT4 are formed along the width direction of the substrate P in the same manner as the patterns PT1, PT3, and PT 5.

As described above, in embodiment 4, the inclination of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 can be adjusted by rotating the cylindrical lens 85b by the driving unit 100 in accordance with the conveyance speed of the substrate P detected by the rotational position detecting mechanism 14. Therefore, the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be precisely joined together along the width direction of the substrate P without being inclined by the drawing light beam LB scanned along the drawing lines LL1 to LL5, and the patterns can also be joined at the same position in the conveyance direction of the substrate P. Accordingly, since the patterns PT1 to PT5 drawn on the substrate P can be corrected so as to be bonded very suitably in the width direction of the substrate P, the bonding error due to the speed unevenness can be suppressed even when the drawing timing is not corrected as in embodiment 1.

In embodiment 4 as well, as in embodiment 2, the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 are rotated around the rotation axes I1 to I5, but the rotation center is not particularly limited. For example, the rotation axes I1 to I5 may be set to the drawing start position PO1 or the drawing end position PO2 of the drawing lines LL1 to LL 5.

In embodiments 1 to 4, the rotation position (the movement position of the substrate P) or the transport speed of the rotating cylinder DR is detected using the gauge portions GPa and GPb formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR. For example, a highly circular scale disk may be attached to the rotating cylinder DR. The scale disk has scale portions GPa, GPb engraved on the outer peripheral surface thereof and is fixed to the end of the rotating cylinder DR so as to be orthogonal to the rotation center line AX 2. Therefore, the scale disk rotates around the rotation center line AX2 integrally with the rotation cylinder DR. The scale disk is made of a metal, glass, ceramic, or the like having a low thermal expansion as a base material, and has a diameter as large as possible (for example, 20cm or more) to improve the measurement resolution. The scale disk can further reduce the so-called measurement abbe error by making the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the substrate P wound around the rotating cylinder DR coincide (substantially coincide) with the diameter of the scale portions GPa, GPb of the scale disk.

Further, the respective configurations of embodiments 1 to 4 may be combined as appropriate. For example, while the plurality of drawing modules UW1 to UW5 are collectively rotated in a minute manner by the rotation mechanism 24 as in embodiment 1, the cylindrical lenses 85b of the f- θ lens system 85 of each of the drawing modules UW1 to UW5 can be individually rotated in a minute manner as in embodiment 2 (or embodiment 4). Further, as shown in fig. 3, the positions of the alignment marks Ks1, Ks2, Ks formed on the substrate P are detected by the corresponding alignment microscope AM1, whereby the tendency of the exposure field a7 on the substrate P to two-dimensional distortion or nonlinear distortion can be continuously measured.

Therefore, by correcting the lines or the whole of the drawing lines LL1 to LL5 to a slight inclination in real time on the surface of the substrate P so as to match the two-dimensional stretching deformation or the nonlinear distortion deformation of the exposure field a7 measured by the alignment microscope AM1, the overlay accuracy of the pattern layer formed in the exposure field a7 on the substrate P and the drawing pattern to be overlappingly exposed thereon can be suppressed within the allowable range in each of the exposure fields a 7.

In each of embodiments 1 to 4, the substrate P is supported by the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder DR and the rotating cylinder DR is rotated, and the pattern is drawn on the portion supported by the rotating cylinder DR of the substrate P while the substrate P is conveyed in the longitudinal direction. For example, the pattern may be drawn by transferring both the stage and the substrate P in the longitudinal direction while the substrate P is held by suction on the stage surface that holds the substrate P in a planar manner, or the pattern may be drawn by forming an air bearing layer between the stage surface and the back surface of the substrate P while the substrate P is held on the flat surface of the stage, and holding the substrate P in a planar manner while the substrate P is held in a non-contact or low-friction state.

In each of embodiments 1 to 4, when the inclination of the entire drawing lines LL1 to LL5 in the XY plane is adjusted, the rotation mechanism 24 and the 2 nd optical table 25 shown in fig. 2 are slightly rotated, but the entire rotation cylinder DR may be inclined in the XY plane by slightly shifting the positions of bearings and the like that support both ends of the shaft portion Sf2 of the rotation cylinder DR in the X direction. When the transport speed in the longitudinal direction of the substrate P supported by the rotating cylinder DR is changed from the reference speed or when a speed variation occurs in the transport speed, the rotation speed of the rotary polygon mirror 97 of each of the drawing units UW1 to UW5 may be dynamically changed in accordance with the changed speed or speed variation. That is, the rotational speed of the rotary polygon mirror 97 may be controlled so that the ratio of the scanning speed Vp of the spot light scanned along each of the scanning lines LL1 to LL5 to the transport speed (sub-scanning speed) Vxs of the substrate P in the longitudinal direction becomes substantially constant even when the transport speed of the substrate P has changed.

< method for manufacturing element >

Next, an element manufacturing method will be described with reference to fig. 21. Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a device according to each embodiment.

In the element manufacturing method shown in fig. 21, first, a function and performance of a display panel formed using a self-light emitting element such as organic EL are designed, and a desired circuit pattern and wiring pattern are designed by CAD or the like (step S201). And a supply reel on which a flexible substrate P (a resin film, a metal foil film, plastic, etc.) as a base material of the display panel is wound is prepared (step S202). The roll substrate P prepared in step S202 may be a surface-modified substrate, a substrate having an undercoat layer (e.g., fine irregularities formed by imprinting), a photosensitive functional film or a transparent film (insulating material) laminated thereon, if necessary.

Next, a backplane layer made of electrodes, wirings, insulating films, TFTs (thin film semiconductors), and the like, which constitute a display panel element, is formed on the substrate P, and a light-emitting layer (display pixel portion) made of a self-light-emitting element such as an organic EL is formed so as to be laminated on the backplane (step S203). In step S203, the known photolithography process for exposing the photoresist layer using the exposure apparatus EX described in each of the embodiments, the exposure process for pattern-exposing the substrate P coated with the photosensitive silane coupling agent instead of the photoresist to form a hydrophilic pattern on the surface, the wet process for pattern-exposing the photosensitive catalyst layer to form a metal film pattern (wiring, electrode, etc.) by electroless plating, the printing process for drawing a pattern with conductive ink containing silver nanoparticles, and the like are also included.

Next, the substrate P is cut for each display panel element continuously manufactured on the long substrate P in a roll manner, or a protective film (environmental barrier layer) or a color filter film is attached to the surface of each display panel element, and the elements are assembled (step S204). Then, a checking step is performed to check whether the display panel device can operate normally or whether the desired performance and characteristics are satisfied (step S205). By the above method, a display panel (flexible display) can be manufactured.

Claims

1. A pattern drawing device for drawing a pattern by projecting a drawing beam having an intensity modulated in accordance with drawing data corresponding to the pattern for an electronic component onto a flexible substrate having a predetermined width, the device comprising:

a substrate carrying mechanism for supporting the substrate to carry at a predetermined speed in a carrying direction intersecting with the width direction of the substrate;

a drawing device including a plurality of drawing modules that draw the pattern on the substrate along a drawing line obtained by scanning a spot light of the drawing beam projected on the substrate in a range narrower than a width of the substrate in the width direction; and a stage that holds the plurality of drawing modules so that the patterns drawn on the substrate by the plurality of drawing modules are bonded to each other in a width direction of the substrate;

a1 st rotation mechanism that relatively rotates the stage and the substrate conveyance mechanism within a drawing plane including the drawing line formed by each of the plurality of drawing modules; and

and a2 nd rotation mechanism provided for each of the plurality of drawing modules and individually adjusting the inclination of each of the drawing lines formed by each of the plurality of drawing modules.

2. The pattern drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a sheet-like substrate elongated in the conveyance direction;

the substrate conveying mechanism has an outer peripheral surface supporting a part of the sheet-like substrate in the longitudinal direction in a cylindrical surface shape, and has a rotating cylinder rotating around a predetermined central axis to convey the sheet-like substrate in the longitudinal direction.

3. The pattern drawing device according to claim 2, further provided with;

a rotary position detecting mechanism including a scale portion and an encoder head, the scale portion having a scale engraved at a predetermined pitch in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface having a predetermined radius from a central axis of the rotary cylinder, and rotating together with the rotary cylinder around the central axis; the encoder head is disposed opposite to the outer peripheral surface of the scale part, and detects a change in position of the scale part in the circumferential direction; and

and a controller for measuring a change in the transport speed of the sheet-like substrate with respect to a preset reference speed based on a change in the position of the scale detected by the rotational position detecting means.

4. The pattern drawing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the 2 nd rotation mechanism provided in each of the plurality of drawing modules is driven and controlled by the control device based on a measured change in the conveyance speed.

5. The pattern drawing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the 1 st rotating mechanism is drive-controlled by the control device based on a measured change in the conveyance speed.

6. The pattern drawing device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the control device adjusts the drawing timing of each of the plurality of drawing modules in accordance with an inclination of the drawing line of the 1 st rotation mechanism or the 2 nd rotation mechanism.

7. The pattern drawing device according to claim 3, wherein each of the aforementioned plurality of drawing modules has;

a rotary polygon mirror for deflecting and scanning the spot light of the drawing beam projected onto the sheet-like substrate in one direction;

an f-theta lens for guiding the drawing beam deflected and scanned by the rotary polygon mirror to the drawing line on the sheet-like substrate; and

a cylindrical lens provided between the f- θ lens and the sheet-like substrate, having a generatrix substantially parallel to a direction in which the drawing line extends, and condensing the drawing light beam in a direction orthogonal to the generatrix;

the rotational speed of the rotary polygonal mirror is controlled so as to be dynamically changed in accordance with a change in the measured conveyance speed.

8. A pattern drawing device including a rotating cylinder that rotates about a predetermined center axis and supports a flexible substrate on an outer peripheral surface that is curved at a constant radius from the center axis, and draws a pattern on the substrate by a drawing beam whose intensity is modulated in accordance with drawing data corresponding to the pattern to be drawn, the pattern drawing device comprising:

a drawing device including a drawing module having a rotary polygon mirror for deflecting the scanning beam and an f- θ lens system for making the deflected scanning beam incident and condensing as spot light on the substrate supported by the outer circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder, the drawing module scanning the spot light one-dimensionally in a direction in which the central axis extends at a predetermined main scanning speed;

a rotation driving mechanism that rotates the rotating cylinder so that the substrate moves at a predetermined transport speed in a transport direction intersecting a drawing line defined by one-dimensional scanning of the spot light; and

a rotational position measuring mechanism for detecting a speed variation of the conveyance speed of the substrate by an encoder system that measures a change in a rotational angle position of a scale portion that rotates coaxially with the central axis of the rotating cylinder;

when the speed unevenness occurs, the rotational speed of the rotary polygon mirror is controlled based on the speed unevenness so that the ratio of the main scanning speed to the transport speed is constant.

9. The pattern drawing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the encoder system includes an encoder head which is disposed so as to face a scale which is engraved along a circumferential direction of the scale portion and which reads a change in position of the scale accompanying rotation of the rotating cylinder,

the reading position of the scale of the encoder head is set to the same orientation as the orientation of the drawing line in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder.

10. The pattern drawing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the drawing module includes a drawing line rotating mechanism that rotates the drawing line with a center of the drawing line as a center in order to adjust an inclination of the drawing line formed on the substrate.

11. The pattern drawing device according to claim 10, wherein the drawing device has:

an upstream drawing module provided upstream in the substrate conveying direction and a downstream drawing module provided downstream in the substrate conveying direction,

the drawing line generated by the upstream drawing module and the drawing line generated by the downstream drawing module are arranged at a predetermined rotation angle apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder and are arranged at a distance apart from each other in the direction in which the central axis extends.

12. The pattern drawing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a speed difference detection means for detecting a speed difference between an upstream side conveyance speed of the substrate in the trace line generated by the upstream side drawing block and a downstream side conveyance speed of the substrate in the trace line generated by the downstream side drawing block;

the inclination of the drawing line is adjusted by the drawing line rotating mechanism provided in the downstream drawing module based on the speed difference.