CN111913363B

CN111913363B - Direct-writing type exposure device

Info

Publication number: CN111913363B
Application number: CN202010380624.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 今井洋之; 大塚明
Original assignee: Aditech Engineering Co ltd
Current assignee: Aditech Engineering Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-09
Filing date: 2020-05-08
Publication date: 2024-05-17
Anticipated expiration: 2040-05-08
Also published as: KR20200130181A; CN111913363A; JP2020184045A; JP7239388B2; TW202046019A

Abstract

Provided is a practical direct-writing exposure device capable of sufficiently vacuum-sucking substrates of various sizes on a stage and performing exposure. A substrate (S) is placed on a stage (2) having a large number of vacuum suction holes (21) formed therein, and vacuum suction is performed, and when the exposure pattern light stage (2) is moved by a conveyance system (3) and passed through an exposure region, exposure is performed by irradiating exposure pattern light by an exposure unit (1). A large number of vacuum suction holes (21) are formed corresponding to the largest-sized substrate (S), and the thin plate (71) blocks the vacuum suction holes (21) which are not blocked by the substrate (S). The thin plate (71) has suction holes (73) or openings (75, 76), and the thin plate mechanism (72) is positioned so as not to hinder vacuum suction of the substrate (S). The thin plate (71) and the thin plate mechanism (72) are mounted on the table (2) and move integrally with the table (2).

Description

Direct-writing type exposure device

Technical Field

The present application relates to a direct-writing exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate to light of a predetermined pattern without using a mask. Hereinafter, the predetermined pattern of light at the time of exposure is referred to as an exposure pattern.

Background

An exposure technique for exposing an object having a photosensitive layer formed on a surface thereof to light and exposing the photosensitive layer is widely used as a main technique of photolithography for forming various microcircuits, microstructures, and the like. Representative exposure techniques are the following: the exposure pattern is irradiated with light by irradiating the mask having the same pattern as the exposure pattern formed thereon with light, and projecting an image of the mask onto the surface of the object.

In addition to such an exposure technique using a mask, a technique is known in which a spatial light modulator is used to directly form an image on the surface of an object to be exposed. Hereinafter, this technique will be referred to as direct exposure in this specification.

In direct-lit exposure, a typical spatial light modulator is a DMD (Digital Mirror Device: digital micromirror device). The DMD has a structure in which tiny square mirrors are arranged in a rectangular lattice shape. The angles of the mirrors with respect to the optical axis are independently controlled, and the posture of reflecting the light from the light source to reach the object and the posture of not allowing the light from the light source to reach the object can be obtained. The DMD includes a controller for controlling each mirror, and the controller controls each mirror in accordance with an exposure pattern to irradiate the surface of the object with light of the exposure pattern.

In the case of direct exposure, since no mask is used, the method is advantageous in a small number of production of various types. In the case of exposure using a mask, it is necessary to prepare a mask for each variety, and a large cost is required, including costs for storing the mask. In addition, when masks are exchanged for producing different varieties, the operation of the apparatus must be stopped, and labor and time are required before restarting. Therefore, it becomes an important factor for productivity reduction. On the other hand, in the case of direct exposure, it is only necessary to prepare a control program for each mirror for each type, and the control program can be changed only when manufacturing different types, so that the advantages in cost and productivity are remarkable. In addition, the exposure pattern can be finely adjusted for each substrate as needed, and the flexibility of the process is also excellent.

In such a direct-writing exposure apparatus, a stage on which a substrate is placed is used because the substrate is placed in a posture perpendicular to the optical axis of an exposure unit in which a spatial light modulator is incorporated. The exposure unit irradiates a set region (hereinafter referred to as an exposure region) with light of an exposure pattern, and a stage on which a substrate is placed is moved by a conveyance system so as to pass through the exposure region, and the substrate is exposed when passing through the exposure region.

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2008-191303

In the direct-writing exposure apparatus described above, in order to improve exposure accuracy, a configuration is adopted in which a substrate is vacuum-sucked to a stage. A plurality of vacuum adsorption holes are formed on the workbench, and each vacuum adsorption hole is connected with a vacuum pump. By operating the vacuum pump, the substrate is vacuum-sucked to the stage.

Vacuum adsorption of the substrate has two purposes. An object is to prevent positional displacement of a substrate. In many cases, the substrate is placed on a stage in an aligned (aligned) state. When the substrate is shifted on the stage after alignment, an exposure pattern cannot be formed at a correct position, and exposure accuracy is lowered. Thus, the substrate is vacuum-sucked to the stage. Another purpose of vacuum suction is to correct deformation of the substrate. The substrate may be deformed such as to warp. When exposure is performed in this state, the formed exposure pattern is deformed, which may cause product defects. Therefore, the deformation is corrected by vacuum suction to the stage, and exposure is performed in this state.

In such a direct-drawing exposure apparatus for vacuum adsorption, there is a problem that the apparatus is suitable for various types of small-volume production and has a unique problem. This will be explained below.

The term "multi-species production in a small amount" means that substrates, which are objects to be exposed, have various sizes. Vacuum suction is performed well for substrates of various sizes, and it is technically difficult to perform vacuum suction.

In the case of performing vacuum suction to substrates of various sizes and performing exposure processing, a configuration is generally adopted in which vacuum suction holes are provided in a stage in accordance with a minimum-sized substrate. When the vacuum suction holes are provided in correspondence with the larger-sized substrates, vacuum suction holes that are not blocked by the substrates are formed in the case of processing the smaller-sized substrates. When the vacuum suction holes are not blocked, a sufficient negative pressure cannot be obtained in the exhaust system, and a sufficient suction force cannot be obtained in the vacuum suction holes blocked by the substrate. Accordingly, the vacuum suction holes are provided in correspondence with the minimum-sized substrates.

However, when the vacuum suction holes are provided in correspondence with the minimum-sized substrates, the peripheral portions of the substrates may not be vacuum-sucked in the case of processing the substrates larger than the minimum-sized substrates. In this case, a problem occurs, and warpage occurs in the peripheral portion of the substrate. As a result of the warpage, the substrate is separated from the stage at the peripheral portion, and as a result, vacuum may leak from the portion. Thus, vacuum adsorption becomes insufficient as well. In addition, for reasons such as an increase in mounting density, when the substrate is used as a product up to the peripheral portion of the substrate, an exposure pattern is formed also in the peripheral portion, but when warpage is not eliminated, product defects are likely to occur. In contrast, when the vacuum suction holes are provided in association with the minimum-sized substrate, the area to be vacuum-sucked with respect to the size of the substrate becomes smaller and the suction force as a whole is also relatively reduced when the larger-sized substrate is processed.

As a configuration for solving the above-described problems, the following configuration can be considered: the system of the vacuum exhaust channel in the workbench is divided into a plurality of systems, and the opening and closing of the vacuum of each system are independently controlled according to the size of the substrate. However, in this configuration, the structure in the table is complicated, and the structure of vacuum evacuation thereof is also complicated. Even if the substrate sizes are not sufficiently large for the 2 to 3 types, the difference between the substrate sizes and the substrate sizes is too large, and the substrate sizes are complicated and the device cost is increased, which is not known as a practical device.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application has been made to solve the above-described problems of the direct exposure apparatus related to vacuum suction of substrates, and an object of the present application is to provide a practical direct exposure apparatus capable of sufficiently vacuum-sucking substrates of various sizes on a stage and performing exposure.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present application provides a direct-writing exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate by irradiating the substrate with light of a predetermined pattern without a mask, comprising: an exposure head that irradiates light of a predetermined pattern to an exposure area; a work table having a plurality of vacuum suction holes for vacuum suction of the loaded substrate; a transport system for moving the stage on which the substrate is placed in the exposure area in a passing manner; an exhaust system for vacuum-sucking the suction holes to vacuum-suck the substrate to the table; and a suction hole sealing member that plugs vacuum suction holes, among the plurality of suction holes, that are not plugged by the substrate. The adsorption hole sealing member includes: a long sheet wound in a roll shape; and a sheet mechanism for feeding and winding the sheet, wherein the sheet mechanism is configured to prevent the vacuum suction of the substrate, and the sheet mechanism are mounted on the table so as to be integrally moved with the table by the conveyance system.

In order to solve the above problem, the thin plate is formed with suction holes overlapping the vacuum suction holes blocked by the substrate or openings corresponding to the size of the substrate so as not to hinder the vacuum suction of the substrate.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the direct exposure apparatus may be configured such that a plurality of hole groups having different sizes of the entire arrangement region and formed of a plurality of suction holes or a plurality of openings having different sizes corresponding to different sizes of the substrates are formed in the thin plate, the plurality of hole groups or the plurality of openings are formed along the longitudinal direction of the thin plate, and a control unit is provided, and when one of the plurality of hole groups or one of the plurality of openings is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate, the control unit controls the thin plate mechanism so that the selected hole group or the selected opening is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the table.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the direct exposure apparatus may be configured such that a plurality of hole groups having different sizes of the entire arrangement region and formed of a plurality of suction holes are formed in the thin plate, the plurality of hole groups are formed along the longitudinal direction of the thin plate, and a control unit is provided to control the thin plate mechanism so that each suction hole of the selected hole group is positioned at a position overlapping each vacuum suction hole of the table when one of the plurality of hole groups is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the direct exposure apparatus may be configured such that a plurality of openings of different sizes corresponding to different sizes of substrates are formed in a thin plate, the plurality of openings are formed along a longitudinal direction of the thin plate, each opening is larger than a corresponding substrate size, a set placement position is set as a position for placing the substrate on a table, and a control unit is provided, and when one opening corresponding to the substrate size is selected, the control unit controls the thin plate mechanism such that the substrate placed at the set placement position is positioned in the selected opening.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the direct exposure apparatus may be configured such that a plurality of openings of different sizes corresponding to different sizes of substrates are formed in a thin plate, the plurality of openings are formed along a longitudinal direction of the thin plate, each opening is smaller than a size of a corresponding substrate, a set placement position is set as a position on which the substrate is placed on a table, and a control unit is provided, and when one opening is selected corresponding to the size of the substrate, the control unit controls the thin plate mechanism such that a peripheral edge of the selected opening is placed on a peripheral portion of the substrate at the set placement position.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the direct exposure apparatus may be configured such that a loading/unloading opening, which is an opening larger than a maximum-sized substrate, is provided in the thin plate in addition to an opening smaller than the size of the corresponding substrate, and the control unit is configured such that the loading/unloading opening is positioned at a position facing the set loading position of the stage when the substrate is loaded onto and removed from the stage.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

As described below, according to the direct-scan exposure apparatus of the present application, the suction hole sealing member blocks the vacuum suction holes that are not blocked by the substrate when processing a small substrate, and thus can perform sufficient vacuum suction. Thus, a practical direct-writing exposure apparatus can be provided which can be produced in a small amount for a plurality of varieties and can perform exposure processing with high precision. Further, since the thin plate mechanism is provided, the thin plates can be simply and rapidly arranged, and productivity is not lowered. Further, since the thin plate and the thin plate mechanism are mounted on the table, the mechanism related to the movement of the table does not become complicated and large-scale.

In addition, since the thin plate is provided with the opening smaller than the size of the corresponding substrate, and the thin plate mechanism is controlled such that the peripheral edge of the opening is located at the peripheral edge of the substrate with respect to the substrate placed at the set placement position, in this configuration, in addition to the above-described effect, the thin plate presses the peripheral edge of the substrate, so that vacuum suction can be reliably performed even if the substrate is bent, and a reduction in exposure accuracy can be prevented.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a direct-writing exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an exposure head mounted on the apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an exposure region.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of the table.

Fig. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the layout of a large number of vacuum suction holes in the apparatus according to the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of the sealing sheet according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the selection and positioning of the hole group of the sealing sheet according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a schematic side view showing the structure of the sheet mechanism and the mounting structure of the sealing sheet and the sheet mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of a sealing sheet according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing the operation of the suction hole sealing mechanism according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional front view showing the operation of the suction hole sealing mechanism according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of a sealing sheet according to the third embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional front view showing the operation of the suction hole sealing mechanism according to the third embodiment.

Description of symbols

1. Exposure unit

2. Working table

21. Vacuum adsorption hole

3. Conveying system

4. Exhaust system

5. Transfer unit

6. Image pickup device

71. Sealing sheet

72. Sheet mechanism

721. Roller bar

722. Roller driving source

73. Sheet adsorption hole

73G hole group

74. Lifting mechanism

75. An opening

76. Small opening

77. Opening for loading and unloading

9. Main control part

91. Main sequence program

92. Exposure pattern program

93. Sheet positioning program

94. Hole group information file

95. Open information file

S substrate

Detailed Description

Next, embodiments (modes) for carrying out the application will be described.

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a direct-writing exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment. The apparatus is an apparatus for exposing a substrate by irradiating the substrate with light of an exposure pattern without a mask. As shown in fig. 1, the direct-writing exposure apparatus includes: an exposure head 1 that irradiates light of an exposure pattern to an exposure region; a stage 2 for placing the substrate S; and a conveyance system 3 for moving the stage 2 on which the substrate S is placed through the exposure region.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the exposure head 1 mounted on the apparatus of fig. 1. The exposure head 1 is cylindrical as a whole, is arranged in a vertically standing state, and emits light downward. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the exposure head 1. As shown in fig. 2, the exposure head 1 includes: a light source 11; a spatial light modulator 12 that spatially modulates light from the light source 11; and an optical system (hereinafter, referred to as a projection optical system) 13 that projects an image based on the light modulated by the spatial light modulator 12.

The light source 11 outputs light of an optimal wavelength according to the photosensitive wavelength of the photosensitive layer of the substrate S. The resist film often has a photosensitive wavelength ranging from the visible short wavelength region to the ultraviolet region, and a light source that outputs light ranging from the visible short wavelength region to the ultraviolet region, such as 405nm and 365nm, is used as the light source 11. In order to exhibit the performance of the spatial light modulator 12, it is preferable to output coherent light, and therefore the laser light source 11 can be used favorably. For example, gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor laser is used.

As the spatial light modulator 12, a DMD is used in the present embodiment. As described above, each pixel is a minute mirror in the DMD. The mirrors (hereinafter referred to as pixel mirrors) are square mirrors of the order of 13.68 μm square, for example, and a large number of the pixel mirrors are arranged in a rectangular lattice structure. The number of rows is 1024×768, for example.

The spatial light modulator 12 includes a modulator controller 121 that controls each pixel mirror. The exposure apparatus according to the embodiment includes a main control unit 9 that controls the entire exposure apparatus. The modulator controller 121 controls each pixel mirror based on a signal from the main control unit 9. The pixel mirrors can take a first posture along the reference plane and a second posture inclined by, for example, 11 to 13 ° with respect to the reference plane with respect to the plane on which the pixel mirrors are arranged as the reference plane. In this embodiment, the first posture is the closed state and the second posture is the open state.

The spatial light modulator 12 includes a driving mechanism that drives each pixel mirror, and the modulator controller 121 can independently control whether to take the first posture or the second posture for each pixel mirror. Such a spatial light modulator 12 is available from texas instruments ("Texas Instruments Inc", i.e., japanese "tek" by texas corporation).

As shown in fig. 2, the exposure head 1 includes an irradiation optical system 14 for irradiating such a spatial light modulator 12 with light from the light source 11. In this embodiment, the illumination optical system 14 includes an optical fiber 141. For imaging with higher illuminance, one exposure head 1 is provided with a plurality of light sources 11, and an optical fiber 141 is provided for each light source 11. As the optical fiber 141, for example, a quartz-based multimode optical fiber is used.

In order to perform high-precision imaging using the DMD, that is, the spatial light modulator 12, it is preferable to make parallel light incident and reflect each pixel mirror, and to make light incident obliquely to each pixel mirror. Therefore, as shown in fig. 2, the irradiation optical system 14 includes a collimator lens 142 for collimating the light emitted from each optical fiber 141 and diffused.

The projection optical system 13 includes two projection lens groups 131, 132, a micromirror array (hereinafter, abbreviated as mla.) 133 arranged between the projection lens groups 131, 132, and the like. The MLA133 is disposed in an auxiliary manner for performing exposure with higher shape accuracy. The MLA133 is an optical member in which a large number of micro lenses are arranged in a rectangular lattice shape. Each lens element corresponds to a pair 1 of the pixel mirrors 1 of the spatial light modulator 12.

In the exposure head 1 described above, light from the light source 11 is guided by the optical fiber 141 and then enters the spatial light modulator 12 through the irradiation optical system 14. At this time, each pixel mirror of the spatial light modulator 12 is controlled by the modulator controller 121 to be in a posture that is selectively tilted according to the exposure pattern. That is, the pixel mirror located at a position where light should reach the exposure region is turned on according to the exposure pattern, and the other pixel mirrors are turned off. The light reflected to the pixel mirror in the off state does not reach the exposure area, and only the light reflected to the pixel mirror in the on state reaches. Therefore, the light of the exposure pattern is irradiated to the exposure region.

A plurality of such exposure heads 1 are provided. As shown in fig. 2, 8 exposure heads 1 are provided in this embodiment. By 8 exposure heads 1, one exposure pattern is formed as a whole. The exposure heads 1 have the same structure.

The exposed area is described in addition with reference to fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an exposure region. In fig. 3, a region (hereinafter, referred to as an individual region) E where light is irradiated by one exposure head 1 is indicated by a square frame. The set of individual areas E is the exposure area.

The substrate S moves in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig. 3, and receives light irradiation at each of the individual areas E. At this time, since the two rows of exposure heads 1 are arranged so as to be offset from each other, exposure can be performed without any gap even in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving direction.

In practice, each individual region E is formed as a collection of minute irradiation patterns (hereinafter referred to as minute patterns). A micro pattern is a pattern based on a pixel mirror. The substrate S placed on the stage 2 moves in the exposure region according to the movement of the stage 2, but is turned on and off in a predetermined sequence in accordance with the timing of the movement. Thereby, a desired exposure pattern is formed on the substrate S.

As shown in fig. 1, the direct-writing exposure apparatus of this embodiment includes two tables 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the table 2. The stage 2 is a stage-shaped member on which the substrate S is placed on a flat upper surface. As shown in fig. 4, vacuum suction holes 21 are formed in the upper surface of the table 2. Each vacuum suction hole 21 is connected to the exhaust system 4 via an exhaust passage 22 formed in the table 2. The exhaust system 4 includes a vacuum pump, and when the exhaust system 4 is operated, the vacuum suction holes 21 are sucked through the exhaust passage 22, and the substrate S placed thereon is vacuum-sucked onto the table 2.

The conveyance system 3 includes: a linear guide 31 disposed so as to pass through the exposure region; and a linear driving source (not shown) for linearly moving each table 2 along the linear guide 31. As shown in fig. 1, each table 2 is mounted on a base 32. The base 32 is movable along the linear guide 31. Each of the bases 32 is provided with a linear driving source, not shown. As the linear driving source, for example, a linear motor is used, and a linear motor table can be used. When the linear driving source is operated, the table 2 moves integrally with the base 32, and the substrate S on the table 2 is conveyed. In this example, the linear guide 31 is shared by the pair of tables 2, and the bases 32 move on the same rail.

Further, standby positions (left standby position and right standby position) are set on both sides away from the exposure region. A transfer unit 5 is disposed at each standby position. In this example, the substrate S to be exposed is carried by the conveyor 50, and the exposed substrate S is accommodated in a rack not shown. The transfer unit 5 is configured to load the substrate S onto the stage 2 from the conveyor 50 and unload the exposed substrate S from the stage 2 to be stored in the rack.

The transfer units 5 on both sides are configured in the same manner, and include: a transfer robot 52 having an adsorption pad 51; and a hand driving mechanism 53 for moving the transfer hand 52 up and down and back and forth and left and right. The plurality of suction pads 51 are provided in a downward posture, and can suction and hold the substrate S by vacuum suction.

Further, the direct-writing exposure apparatus includes an alignment mechanism for forming an exposure pattern at a prescribed position on the substrate S. The alignment mechanism includes a pre-alignment mechanism for placing the substrate S at a predetermined position with respect to each stage 2, and an alignment sensor for detecting the placement position of the substrate S in a pre-aligned state.

The alignment sensor is an imaging element 6 that photographs an alignment mark on the substrate S. The prealignment mechanism is a mechanism for locating the alignment mark in a region where the imaging element 6 can capture an image. The transfer unit 5 serves also as a pre-alignment mechanism. For example, the transfer robot 52 holds the substrate S again by pressing the substrate S against a contact plate provided at a predetermined position, thereby performing the pre-alignment. By the pre-alignment, the substrate S is placed in a positioned state with respect to the stage 2.

As shown in fig. 1, the direct-writing exposure apparatus includes a main control unit 9 that controls each part. The main control unit 9 is provided with a main sequence program 91 for operating each part in a predetermined sequence.

The main control unit 9 is also provided with an exposure pattern program 92 for transmitting a control signal to each of the modulator controllers 121 so as to realize a predetermined exposure pattern. The exposure pattern program 92 is prepared in advance based on design information of what kind of circuit is formed on the substrate S, and stores the memory unit 90 of the main control unit 9.

An alignment program, not shown, constituting an alignment mechanism is installed in the main control unit 9. The image data of the alignment mark imaged by the image pickup device 6 as the alignment sensor is sent to the main control unit 9. The alignment program processes the image data to calculate the formation position of the exposure pattern, and rewrites the exposure pattern program 92 according to this.

The main control unit 9 further includes an input unit 901. The input unit 901 inputs various information such as information on the type of the substrate S subjected to the exposure process.

The direct exposure apparatus according to the embodiment includes an adsorption hole sealing member in order to achieve a practical vacuum adsorption structure corresponding to various types of small-volume production. The suction hole sealing member includes a long sheet 71 wound in a roll shape, and a sheet mechanism 72 for feeding and winding the sheet 71. Hereinafter, the suction hole sealing member will be described.

First, the layout of a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 in the apparatus of the embodiment will be described. Fig. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the layout of a large number of vacuum suction holes in the apparatus according to the embodiment.

As described above, in the case of corresponding to a plurality of varieties of small-volume production, generally, the vacuum suction holes 21 are formed in correspondence with the minimum-sized substrate. That is, when three substrates S1, S2, S3 having different sizes are present, as shown in fig. 5 (1), a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are arranged so as to match the substrate S3 having the smallest size. That is, in a square region slightly smaller than the size of the substrate S3, a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are provided at equal intervals.

In contrast, in the direct exposure apparatus according to the embodiment, as shown in fig. 5 (2), a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are arranged in correspondence with the largest substrate S1. That is, in a square region slightly smaller than the size of the substrate S1, a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are provided at equal intervals.

In this way, in the direct-drawing exposure apparatus of the embodiment, the vacuum suction holes 21 are provided in correspondence with the largest-sized substrate, but in this configuration, as described above, vacuum leakage occurs when a smaller-sized substrate is processed. In order to solve this problem, the direct-writing exposure apparatus of the embodiment includes a suction hole sealing member. As shown in fig. 1, the suction hole sealing member includes a long sheet 71 wound in a roll shape, and a sheet mechanism 72 for feeding and winding the sheet 71.

The thin plate 71 is used to block the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S. That is, when the substrate S of a small size is processed, the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S are generated, and therefore, the thin plate 71 is used to block the vacuum suction holes. Hereinafter, the sheet 71 is referred to as a sealing sheet. The sealing sheet 71 may be a soft and airtight sheet, but may be a PET (Polyethyleneterephthalate) sheet, for example, although it is not particularly limited thereto. The thickness may be, for example, about 0.15mm to about 0.3 mm.

Fig. 6 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of the sealing sheet according to the first embodiment. The seal sheet 71 is a long sheet wound around a roller, but in fig. 6, a state of being pulled out long is drawn for the purpose of explaining the structure.

In this embodiment, the sealing sheet 71 needs not to hinder vacuum suction of the substrate S. Several configurations can be considered as the non-blocking configuration, but in this embodiment, the same holes 73 are formed in the same positional relationship as the vacuum suction holes 21 of the table 2. Hereinafter, the holes 73 of the sealing sheet 71 are also holes for adsorption, and thus are referred to as sheet adsorption holes 73.

As shown in fig. 6, a large number of sheet suction holes 73 are formed in the sealing sheet 71. The plurality of sheet adsorbing holes 73 are divided into a plurality of groups 73G. Hereinafter, the group 73G of the sheet adsorbing holes 73 is referred to as a hole group. In fig. 6, each hole group 73G is surrounded by a broken line, but for the sake of understanding, such a line is not drawn on the sealing sheet 71.

As shown in fig. 6, the number of sheet adsorbing holes 73 in each hole group 73G is different. Each hole group 73G is formed of thin plate suction holes 73 formed at equal intervals in a square arrangement region. In each of the hole groups 73G, the separation intervals of the sheet suction holes 73 are the same, but the sizes of the square arrangement regions are different, so that the number of the sheet suction holes 73 is different. Further, there are also hole groups 73G having square arrangement regions with different aspect ratios. The term "arrangement region" means an arrangement region of the entire thin plate suction holes 73 in the plurality of hole groups 73G. It can also be understood that the entire sheet suction hole 73 is located in the smallest square area inside.

Such hole groups 73G can be provided in consideration of the difference in size of the substrates S to be processed. That is, in each hole group 73G, the size of the arrangement region where the thin plate suction holes 73 are formed corresponds to the size of the substrate S to be processed. That is, in fig. 6, the broken line indicating each hole group 73G corresponds to the dimension (length in the vertical and horizontal directions) of the substrate S.

Such a sealing sheet 71 is used with a certain hole group 73G selected and positioned. This will be described with reference to fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a perspective schematic view showing the selection and positioning of the hole group 73G in the sealing sheet 71 according to the first embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, in reality, the stage 2, the sealing sheet 71, and the substrate S are in contact with each other in this order from below, and in fig. 7, a separated state is depicted for easy understanding. In fig. 6 and 7, for the sake of understanding, the vacuum suction holes 21 and the thin plate suction holes 73 are drawn larger, and actually smaller than the illustrated state. When the sizes of the vacuum suction holes 21 and the thin plate suction holes 73 are shown as an example, the diameter is about 0.5mm to 3.0 mm.

In fig. 7, a substrate S of a certain size is placed on the table 2 for processing. As described above, the substrate S is placed in a state of being pre-aligned with respect to the stage 2. That is, the table 2 is placed in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to a reference position. In fig. 7, a placement position of the substrate S in a pre-aligned state is indicated by a broken line S'.

Then, the sealing sheet 71 selects one hole group 73G in accordance with the size of the substrate S, and the selected hole group 73G is positioned with respect to the table 2. The positioning means, as shown in fig. 7, a position where each sheet suction hole 73 serving as the selected hole group 73G overlaps with the vacuum suction hole 21 of the table 2.

In this embodiment, positioning is performed by the sheet mechanism 72. That is, the sheet mechanism 72 is configured to position the sheet 71 in addition to the feeding and winding of the sheet 71.

As shown in fig. 1, the sheet mechanism 72 is a mechanism that performs feeding and winding of the seal sheet 71 by a roll-to-roll mechanism. In order to keep the seal sheet 71 from being loosened in the horizontal posture, the sheet mechanism 72 includes a pair of guide rollers 723.

Fig. 8 is a schematic side view showing the structure of the sheet mechanism 72 and the mounting structure of the sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72. The sheet mechanism 72 has a substantially similar configuration in the rollers on both sides, and one side is illustrated in fig. 8. As can be seen from fig. 1 and 8, the sheet mechanism 72 includes: a pair of round bar-shaped rollers 721 around which the sealing sheet 71 is wound; and a roller driving source 722 that drives each roller 721. The roller driving source 722 is, for example, a torque motor, and a servo motor or a stepping motor that rotates the roller 721 against the torque.

Each roller driving source 722 is controlled by the main control unit 9 to position the sealing sheet 71. In the specific explanation, each roller driving source 722 is connected to the main control unit 9, and the sheet positioning program 93 is installed in the main control unit 9.

Each of the hole groups 73G is assigned an ID (hereinafter referred to as a hole group ID) for identifying the hole group. A predetermined reference position (hereinafter, referred to as a sheet reference position) is set in the longitudinal direction on the seal sheet 71. The position of each hole group 73G formed in the sealing sheet 71 is determined by the distance from the sheet reference position. In the storage unit 90 of the main control unit 9, a hole group information file 94 in which the positions of the hole groups 73G are recorded is stored. The hole group information file 94 is a file in which the formation position (distance from the sheet reference position) of each hole group 73G is recorded in association with the hole group ID.

The information of which position the sheet reference position is currently located with respect to the table 2 is transmitted as an argument to the sheet positioning program 93. The table 2 is provided with an origin position (hereinafter referred to as a table origin) for the sheet positioning program 93, and the sheet reference position is determined from a relationship with the table origin. For example, the hole group 73G selected at the time of execution of the previous sheet positioning program 93 is held by the storage unit 90, and the current position of the sheet reference position with respect to the table origin can be obtained by reading the hole group. At the time of initial operation of the apparatus, the sheet reference position=the table origin is set.

The hole group ID is also transferred as an argument to the sheet positioning program 93. The positioning program of the sheet 71 calculates the value of how much distance the sealing sheet 71 is moved in which direction, based on the current position of the sheet reference position and the hole group ID. That is, the hole group information file 94 is referred to, and if it is moved by a certain distance in which direction, the hole group 73G of the hole group ID is positioned with respect to the table 2. Then, when the calculated value is sent to the sheet mechanism 72, the routine ends. As a result, the sheet mechanism 72 is controlled, and the selected hole group 73G is positioned with respect to the table 2 as shown in fig. 7.

The sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 are attached to the table 2. The sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 are attached to the base 32 together with the elevating mechanism 74. As shown in fig. 8, the elevating mechanism 74 includes a pair of telescopic struts 741 that hold the sheet mechanism 72, an up-and-down drive source 742 that expands and contracts each strut, and the like.

The roller 721 is fixed to the stay 741 via a bearing. The roller drive source 722 is also held by a strut 741, and the sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 are integrally attached to the chassis 32 via the elevating mechanism 74. The guide roller 723 is also held by the stay 741 via a bearing. Therefore, when the conveyance system 3 is operated and the base 32 is moved, the seal sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 are also integrally moved.

The operation of the direct-writing exposure apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described below.

Before the operation of the apparatus, the operator inputs necessary information in the input unit 901. The information here includes information on the type of the substrate S to be processed, and the information on the type includes information on the size of the substrate S.

The main control unit 9 transmits a control signal to the sheet mechanism 72 before the exposure process. That is, the main sequence program 91 calls out the sheet positioning program 93 and executes it. The main sequence program 91 determines the hole group ID from the inputted item information, and transmits it to the sheet positioning program 93 together with the information of the current position of the sheet reference position. The sheet positioning program 93 calculates the amount of movement (direction and distance) required for the seal sheet 71 based on the variety information, and outputs the calculated amount to the sheet mechanism 72. As a result, the selected hole group 73G is positioned with respect to the table 2.

In addition, when the seal sheet 71 is fed out and wound, the lifting mechanism 74 operates to slightly lift the seal sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 upward. After the positioning is performed as described above, the lifting mechanism 74 lowers the sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72, and brings the sealing sheet 71 into contact with or into close contact with the table 2 in the positioned state.

Next, the one transfer unit 5 operates to place the substrate S on the one table 2. At this time, the substrate S is placed at a predetermined position with respect to the stage 2 by performing the pre-alignment. Then, the exhaust system 4 is operated, and the substrate S is vacuum-sucked to the stage 2. At this time, as described above, the hole group 73G of the sealing sheet 71 is positioned, and the vacuum suction holes 21 of the table 2 are overlapped with the sheet suction holes 73. Thereby, vacuum suction of the substrate S is not hindered.

In the sealing sheet 71, the hole group 73G selected according to the size of the substrate S is positioned with respect to the table 2, so that the vacuum suction of the substrate S placed thereon is not hindered, and the unused vacuum suction holes 21 around the substrate S are blocked by the sealing sheet 71.

While maintaining this state, the conveyance system 3 moves the table 2. When the substrate S on the stage 2 reaches the lower side of the image pickup device 6, the image pickup device 6 picks up an image of the alignment mark, and the picked-up data is sent to the main control unit 9 to rewrite the exposure pattern program 92.

When the carrier system 3 moves the stage 2 further and passes through the exposure region below the exposure unit 1, the exposure unit 1 operates to expose the substrate S in accordance with the exposure pattern. After passing through the exposure region, the conveyance system 3 reverses the stage 2, and returns the stage 2 to the original standby position. Then, the transfer unit 5 operates at the standby position, and the exposed substrate S is carried out to the conveyor 50.

During this time, the other transfer unit 5 performs a loading operation of the substrate S after the pre-alignment with respect to the other table 2. When one of the tables 2 returns to the standby position, the conveyance system 3 moves the other table 2 from the opposite side, and the exposure unit 1 performs exposure similarly when the other table passes through the exposure area. At this time, a control signal is similarly sent to the sheet mechanism 72, and in a state where the hole group 73G corresponding to the inputted type is positioned, the sealing sheet 71 covers the other table 2, and the substrate S is placed thereon to be vacuum-sucked, and exposure is performed in this state.

Such operations are alternately repeated to expose the substrates S. When the exposure process of the substrate S of 1 lot is completed and the next lot of substrates S are processed, the type information is input to the input unit 901 when the types are different. The main sequence program 91 executes the sheet positioning program 93 to position the corresponding hole group 73G based on the inputted item information before starting the processing of the next batch. At this time, the elevating mechanism 74 is operated to slightly raise the sealing sheet 71 away from the table 2, and after positioning, to lower it to be in contact with or in close contact with the table 2. After the positioning of the hole group 73G is performed in this manner, exposure processing is performed similarly for each substrate S.

According to the direct-writing exposure apparatus of the embodiment having the above-described configuration and operation, since the large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are provided in the stage 2 in the layout corresponding to the substrate S having the largest size, the suction hole sealing member blocks the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S when the substrate S smaller than the large number is processed, and thus, the apparatus capable of performing sufficient vacuum suction is obtained. That is, a practical direct-writing exposure apparatus capable of performing exposure processing with high precision and corresponding to a small number of production of various types can be provided.

In the above configuration, the thin plate mechanism 72 is a mechanism that brings the sealing thin plate 71 into a state of not obstructing the vacuum suction of the substrate S, but this operation may be performed by a manual operation by an operator. However, this is a complicated work that needs to be performed every time a variety is changed, and therefore productivity is significantly lowered. The sheet mechanism 72 can quickly omit the change of the hole group 73G associated with the change of the variety, and has a meaning of not deteriorating the productivity.

The sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 are attached to the table 2 and move integrally with the table 2, and this has a meaning that the mechanism relating to the movement of the table 2 is not complicated. The sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 may be attached to separate members from the table 2 so as not to move integrally, but the sealing sheet 71 needs to be moved synchronously (in the same direction at the same speed) with the table 2 while maintaining a state in which the vacuum suction holes 31 that are not used are closed. Although mechanically feasible, it can become complex and large-scale.

In the above-described operation, the movement directions of the tables 2 when passing through the exposure area are opposite to each other in the two tables 2 during exposure. When the moving direction of the stage 2 is different, the pattern of opening and closing of each pixel mirror is also different, and thus the exposure pattern program 92 is installed, respectively. However, if one of the tables 2 is exposed in the forward direction and the other table 2 is exposed in the return direction, the same direction of movement at the time of exposure becomes the same, and thus the same exposure pattern program 92 can be executed to perform exposure.

Next, a direct-writing exposure apparatus according to a second embodiment will be described.

In the direct-writing exposure apparatus according to the second embodiment, the vacuum suction holes 21 of each stage 2 are also provided in a large number in a layout corresponding to the substrate S having the largest size. Then, a suction hole sealing member is provided, which closes the vacuum suction holes 21 that are not closed by the substrate S, and the suction hole sealing member includes a sealing sheet 71 and a sheet mechanism 72. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the sealing sheet 71, which does not hinder vacuum suction of the substrate S, has an opening 75 instead of the sheet suction holes 73.

Fig. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of the sealing sheet 71 according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the sealing sheet 71 is also in the form of a long strip, and is fed out and wound by the sheet mechanism 72 while being wound around a pair of rollers.

As shown in fig. 9, in the second embodiment, the opening 75 is square, and a large number of openings having different sizes are formed along the longitudinal direction of the sealing sheet 71. The openings 75 are formed corresponding to the different sizes of the substrates S having different sizes. In this embodiment, each opening 75 is formed with a slightly larger size than the corresponding substrate S.

As in the case of the hole group 73G of the first embodiment, each opening 75 is assigned an ID (hereinafter, referred to as an opening ID). Then, the opening information file 95 stored in association with the opening ID is stored in the storage unit 90 of the main control unit 9 at the position where each opening 75 is formed (position relative to the sheet reference position).

In this embodiment, the sheet mechanism 72 also includes a pair of rollers 721 and a pair of roller driving sources 722 that drive the rollers 721 to send out and wind up the sealing sheet 71. Then, the sealing sheet 71 and the sheet mechanism 72 are attached to the base 32 on which the table 2 is mounted together with the elevating mechanism 74, and move integrally with the table 2.

Fig. 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams showing operations of the suction hole sealing mechanism according to the second embodiment, fig. 10 is a perspective schematic diagram, and fig. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional front view. In fig. 10, as in fig. 7, for understanding, the table 2, the sealing sheet 71, and the substrate S are separately drawn, but actually they overlap and contact each other.

In the second embodiment, a sheet positioning program 93 is also installed in the main control unit 9. The sheet positioning program 93 calculates the amount of movement (direction and distance) of the sheet 71 for positioning the corresponding opening 75 based on the item information input by the input unit 901, and sends the calculated amount of movement to the sheet mechanism 72 to perform positioning. At this time, the lifting mechanism 74 operates similarly to slightly raise the sealing sheet 71 temporarily, and after positioning, lowers it to contact the table 2.

Fig. 11 depicts a state in which the substrate S is pre-aligned and placed after the sealing sheet 71 is positioned so as to be in contact with the table 2 as described above. As shown in fig. 11, the substrate S placed in a pre-aligned state is positioned in the opening 75 of the positioned sealing sheet 71. Then, the opening 75 is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate S to be processed, and as shown in fig. 11, the opening 75 is slightly larger than the substrate S. The difference in size between the opening 75 and the substrate S is referred to as an opening difference, and is denoted by m in fig. 11.

It is important for the opening difference m to be sufficiently small compared with the pitch p of the vacuum suction holes 21 of the table 2 (the distance of the adjacent vacuum suction holes 21). This is because, when the opening difference pm is larger than the pitch p of the vacuum suction holes 21, the vacuum suction holes 21 that are not blocked by the substrate S are not blocked by the sealing sheet 71, and the vacuum leaks. On the other hand, if the opening difference m is too small, the substrate S tends to be positioned in the opening 75 depending on the accuracy of the pre-alignment. When the substrate S is not located in the opening 75, the substrate S may cover the edge of the opening 75, which may still cause vacuum suction errors. Thus, the opening difference m is preferably 1/2 or less and 2.0mm or more of the pitch p of the vacuum suction holes 21, for example.

The direct exposure apparatus according to the second embodiment is the same as the apparatus according to the first embodiment except that only the suction hole closing mechanism is different in configuration as described above.

In the second embodiment, too, since a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are provided in the table 2 in a layout corresponding to the largest-sized substrate S, the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S are blocked by the suction hole sealing member when the smaller substrate S is processed, and thus, a device capable of performing sufficient vacuum suction is provided. Therefore, a practical direct-writing exposure apparatus can be provided which can cope with a small number of production of various types and can perform exposure processing with high precision.

Next, a direct-writing exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment will be described.

In the third embodiment, a large number of vacuum suction holes 21 are provided in the table 2 in a layout corresponding to the largest-sized substrate S, and suction hole sealing members are provided which block the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S when the smaller substrate S is processed. In the third embodiment, the suction hole sealing member has a function of pressing in the peripheral portion of the substrate S in addition to a function of blocking the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S.

Fig. 12 is a plan view schematically showing the structure of a sealing sheet 71 according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the sheet 71 is also in the form of a long strip, and is fed and wound by the sheet mechanism 72 while being wound around a pair of rollers. Then, as in the second embodiment, a plurality of openings 76 having different sizes are formed along the longitudinal direction.

Each opening 76 is formed corresponding to the size of the substrate S to be processed. This point is the same as the second embodiment. The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the opening 76 is smaller than the corresponding substrate S in size. Hereinafter, this opening 76 will be referred to as a small opening.

As shown in fig. 12, the sealing sheet 71 of this embodiment has a large opening 77 in addition to the small openings 76 corresponding to the respective dimensions of the substrate S. The opening 77 is an opening used when the substrate S is placed on the table 2 and the substrate S is recovered from the table 2 (hereinafter referred to as substrate attachment/detachment). Hereinafter, this opening 77 is referred to as an opening for attachment and detachment. The loading/unloading opening 77 is a square opening having a size slightly larger than the largest-sized substrate S.

In this embodiment, the opening ID is also given to each small opening 76 and the loading/unloading opening 77. Then, information on the formation positions of the small openings 76 and the loading/unloading openings 77 is acquired as a distance from the sheet reference position, and recorded in the opening information file 95.

Fig. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional front view showing the operation of the suction hole sealing mechanism according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the sequence in which the transfer unit 5, the sheet mechanism 72, and the lifting mechanism 74 cooperate when the substrate S is attached and detached is different from the first and second embodiments.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 13 (1), first, the main sequence program 91 transmits a control signal to the sheet mechanism 72 so that the loading/unloading opening 77 is positioned. In the stage 2, a position for placing the prealigned substrate S is set to a predetermined position (hereinafter, referred to as a set placement position). The position of the loading/unloading opening 77 is a position where the area occupied by the substrate S placed at the set placement position is inside the loading/unloading opening 77 in a plan view. The sheet mechanism 72 is controlled so as to be at this position.

If the loading/unloading opening 77 is positioned, the main sequence program 91 transmits a control signal to the transfer unit 5, and as shown in fig. 13 (2), the prealigned substrate S is placed on the stage 2. At this time, the sealing sheet 71 may be in contact with the table 2 or may slightly float.

Next, if the loading of the substrate S is completed, the main sequence program 91 transmits a control signal to the sheet mechanism 72, and as shown in fig. 13 (3), the small opening 76 corresponding to the size of the substrate S is positioned. At this time, the elevating mechanism 74 positions the sealing sheet 71 slightly above the substrate S.

Next, the main sequence program 91 sends a control signal to the lifting mechanism 74 to lower the sealing sheet 71 so as to be in close contact with the table 2. In this state, as shown in fig. 13 (4), the edge of the small opening 76 covers the peripheral portion of the substrate S.

In this state, the main routine 91 transmits a control signal to the exhaust system 4 to start vacuum adsorption. The substrate S is vacuum-sucked to the stage 2 by the vacuum suction of the vacuum suction holes 21, and the sealing sheet 71 is also vacuum-sucked to the stage 2. At this time, as is clear from fig. 13 (4), the edge of the small opening 76 presses the peripheral portion of the substrate S. Thus, even if the substrate S is warped, the sealing sheet 71 is warped and pressed into close contact with the table 2. Therefore, no leakage of vacuum occurs, and the substrate S is exposed in this state in a flat posture.

The operation when the substrate S is removed from the stage 2 after the exposure is completed is the opposite to the above. That is, after stopping the operation of the exhaust system 4 and releasing the vacuum suction, the lifting mechanism 74 slightly lifts the sealing sheet 71. Then, the sheet mechanism 72 operates to position the loading/unloading opening 77. The suction pads 51 of the transfer unit 5 suck the substrate S, and the transfer robot 52 lifts the substrate S and conveys it out to the conveyor 50.

According to the direct-drawing exposure apparatus of the third embodiment, the suction hole sealing member blocks the vacuum suction holes 21 which are not blocked by the substrate S, and thus can cope with various small-volume productions and can perform exposure processing with high precision. In addition, since the sealing sheet 71 presses the peripheral portion of the substrate S, even if the substrate S is warped, vacuum suction can be reliably performed, and a reduction in exposure accuracy can be prevented.

In the third embodiment, the seal sheet 71 preferably has moderate elasticity. When the rigidity of the sealing sheet 71 is high, the sealing sheet 71 floats from the table 2 by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the substrate S, and is not sufficiently vacuum-sucked. In contrast, when the sealing sheet 71 is too soft, a force for pressing the peripheral portion of the substrate S to eliminate warpage cannot be generated. In view of these, a sealing sheet 71 having moderate elasticity is used. For example, when the sealing sheet 71 is made of PET, the thickness is about 0.3mm to 0.5mm, and the above-described problem does not occur.

The difference in the size of the small opening 76 with respect to the size of the substrate S (indicated by m' in fig. 13 (4)) is preferably about 3.0 to 5.0 mm. When the diameter is less than 3.0mm, warpage may not be sufficiently eliminated. Further, even if it is larger than 5.0mm, the effect of eliminating warpage is not changed, but formation of the exposure pattern with respect to the substrate S may be hindered.

In the embodiments, the vacuum suction holes 21 provided in the table 2 are arranged at equal intervals, but some of the vacuum suction holes may not be arranged at equal intervals. For example, since the vacuum suction force is preferably increased in the peripheral portion of the substrate S, the vacuum suction holes 21 located in the peripheral portion in accordance with the size of each substrate S may be densely arranged with a narrow interval.

In the first embodiment, the case where the sheet mechanism 72 is positioned so that each sheet suction hole 73 overlaps with the vacuum suction hole 21 of the table 2 has been described, but the "overlapping" in this case is not limited to the case of complete overlapping, and may overlap by at least 1/2 or more of the area. That is, 1/2 or more of the area of the vacuum suction holes 21 may not be blocked (i.e., may be in communication with the thin plate suction holes 73). The sheet suction holes 73 may be the same size as the vacuum suction holes 21 of the table 2, but are preferably slightly larger than the vacuum suction holes. The reason for this is that when it is made slightly larger, strict positioning accuracy is not required for the sheet mechanism 72. For example, the sheet suction holes 73 are preferably formed to have an area ratio of 1.2 to 1.5 times that of the vacuum suction holes 21.

In the above embodiments, the two work tables 2 are mounted, but a single work table using only one work table may be used in the practice of the application.

The direct-writing exposure apparatus of the present application can also be used for a process of exposing both surfaces of a substrate. In the case of the double-sided exposure, for example, the following constitution can be adopted: two single work tables are longitudinally arranged to form a device, and a reversing mechanism for turning the substrate up and down is arranged between the two single work tables.

In the direct-writing exposure apparatus, the term "substrate" is used to mean a plate-like exposure object, and does not necessarily mean a member serving as a base of a product. Even the unassembled components in the final article may be "substrates".

Claims

1. A direct-writing exposure apparatus capable of performing exposure by irradiating light of a predetermined pattern onto substrates having different sizes without a mask, comprising:

An exposure head for irradiating light of a predetermined pattern to an exposure region;

a work table having a plurality of vacuum suction holes for vacuum suction of the loaded substrate;

a transport system for moving the stage on which the substrate is placed in the exposure area in a passing manner;

An exhaust system for vacuum-sucking the vacuum suction holes to vacuum-suck the substrate to the table; and

A suction hole sealing member for sealing the vacuum suction holes which are not sealed by the substrate among the plurality of suction holes,

The adsorption hole sealing member includes: a long sheet wound in a roll shape; and a sheet mechanism for feeding and winding the sheet, wherein the sheet mechanism is a mechanism for making the sheet in a state of not obstructing vacuum adsorption of the substrate,

The sheet and the sheet mechanism are mounted on the table so as to be integrally moved with the table by a conveyance system,

The thin plate is formed with suction holes overlapping with the vacuum suction holes blocked by the substrate or openings corresponding to the size of the substrate so as not to obstruct the vacuum suction of the substrate,

The thin plate is formed with a plurality of hole groups which are formed by a plurality of the adsorption holes and have different sizes of the whole arrangement area or a plurality of openings with different sizes corresponding to the different sizes of the base plate,

A plurality of hole groups or a plurality of openings are formed along the length direction of the thin plate,

A control unit is provided for controlling the sheet mechanism so that the selected hole group or the selected opening is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the table when one of the one or more openings in the plurality of hole groups is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate.

2. A direct-writing exposure apparatus capable of performing exposure by irradiating light of a predetermined pattern onto substrates having different sizes without a mask, comprising:

The thin plate is formed with suction holes overlapping with the vacuum suction holes blocked by the substrate in such a manner as not to hinder the vacuum suction of the substrate,

The thin plate is formed with a plurality of hole groups which are formed by a plurality of the adsorption holes and have different sizes of the whole arrangement area,

A plurality of hole groups are formed along the length direction of the thin plate,

And a control unit for controlling the sheet mechanism so that each suction hole of the selected hole group is positioned at a position overlapping each vacuum suction hole of the table when one of the plurality of hole groups is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate.

3. A direct-writing exposure apparatus capable of performing exposure by irradiating light of a predetermined pattern onto substrates having different sizes without a mask, comprising:

The thin plate is formed with an opening corresponding to the size of the substrate so as not to obstruct vacuum adsorption of the substrate,

A plurality of openings of different sizes corresponding to the different sizes of the base plate are formed on the thin plate,

A plurality of openings are formed along the length direction of the thin plate,

Each opening is an opening larger than the size of the corresponding substrate,

The table is provided with a set placement position as a position for placing the substrate,

When one opening is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate, the control unit controls the sheet mechanism and, after positioning the sheet, places the substrate at the set placement position so that the selected opening is positioned at the set placement position.

4. A direct-writing exposure apparatus capable of performing exposure by irradiating light of a predetermined pattern onto substrates having different sizes without a mask, comprising:

Each opening is a smaller opening than the size of the corresponding substrate,

A set loading position is set as a position for loading the substrate on the workbench,

When one opening is selected in accordance with the size of the substrate, the control unit controls the thin plate mechanism so that the peripheral edge of the selected opening is positioned at the peripheral edge of the substrate placed at the set placement position.

5. The direct-writing exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein,

In addition to the opening smaller than the corresponding substrate, the thin plate is provided with an opening for loading and unloading,

The loading/unloading opening is an opening larger than the largest-sized substrate,

The control unit is configured to position the loading/unloading opening at a position facing the set loading position of the stage when the substrate is loaded onto and removed from the stage.