JP2000235266A - Contacting method for contact aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly bring a whole surface of a photomask into contact with a member to be exposed by controlling fixed air intake pressure, etc., while surely preventing the occurrence of stagnant air when the photomask is brought into contact with the member to be exposed by vacuum adsorption. SOLUTION: Movement of front/rear surface masks holding front/rear surface frames 51a, 51b are forcedly suppressed in the state that minute gaps are formed between the front surface mask (front surface frame) 51a and the member to be exposed 6 and between the rear surface mask (rear surface frame) 51b and the member to be exposed 6 in an enclosed room, and by intaking the air in the enclosed room in the state of the movement suppression, the front/rear surface masks 51a, 51b are deflected, and are brought into contact with the member to be exposed 6 from their central parts. Thereafter, by releasing the movement suppressing of the front/rear surface frames 51a, 51b, the contact areas with the member to be exposed 6 are expanded successively to a peripheral part in the restoration process of the deflected front/rear surface masks 51a, 51b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shadow mask,
In a manufacturing process of a lead frame or the like, an exposure apparatus in which a photomask on which a predetermined pattern is formed is brought into close contact with a member to be exposed to which a resist agent is applied and exposed, and in particular, the photomask and the member to be exposed are brought into close contact by vacuum suction. Related to vacuum adhesion technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an exposure apparatus used for manufacturing a shadow mask, a lead frame, or the like, a double-sided contact exposure is generally performed. A vacuum suction system is employed in which a closed chamber is formed for hermetically sealing the photomask and the member to be exposed in the process of evacuating the air in the closed chamber to a vacuum state.

That is, as shown in FIG. 12, a front-side mask holding frame (hereinafter, referred to as a front frame) holding a front-side glass mask (hereinafter, referred to as a front mask) 51a.
52a and a glass mask on the back side (hereinafter referred to as a back mask)
Sealing packings 53a and 3b for forming closed vacuum chambers (sealed chambers) L are attached to the outer peripheral portion of a mask holding frame (hereinafter, referred to as a back frame) 52b on the back side that holds 51b. . Chuck packings 54a and 55a for holding the front mask 1a with a vacuum chuck are attached to the inner peripheral position of the front frame 52a with respect to the sealing packing 53a, and similarly, the sealing packing of the back frame 52b. Chuck packings 54b and 55b for holding the back mask 1b with a vacuum chuck are attached at an inner circumferential position relative to 53b.

In the front frame 52a, a contact exhaust port 56 for exhausting the front and back masks 51a and 51b to adhere to both surfaces of the exposed member 6 by vacuum suction.
And a chuck exhaust port 57a for exhausting to hold the front mask 51a on the front frame 52a with the vacuum chuck.
Are formed. The back frame 52b is provided with a chuck exhaust port 57b for exhausting the back mask 51b to hold the back mask 52b on the back frame 52b with a vacuum chuck.

When contact exposure is performed in such a configuration, the front and back masks 51a and 51b are driven by a predetermined driving mechanism.
Are held close to the exposed member 6 while being held by the front and back frames 52a and 52b, respectively.
At the stage where the closed chamber L is formed by the contact of 3a and 53b, the air in the closed chamber is exhausted through the close contact exhaust port 56. Then, a force acting to narrow the sealed chamber acts, so that the sealing packings 53a and 53b are elastically deformed, and the masks 51 on the front and back sides are deformed.
a and 51b adhere to the exposed member 6, respectively.

At this time, if air traps occur between the front and back masks 51a and 51b and the exposed member 6, when the patterns formed on the front and back masks 51a and 51b are exposed, the exposed member 6 is accurately exposed. It cannot be transferred. It is also desired to reduce the time required for close contact as much as possible.

Therefore, the exhaust pressure is controlled as shown in FIG. 13 in order to quickly and closely contact the front and back masks 51a and 51b and the member 6 to be exposed so as not to generate air pockets. That is, in the first stage (first stage), exhaust is performed for a long time t1 at a very low exhaust pressure V1, and in the next stage (second stage), the exhaust pressure (vacuum pressure) V1 is higher than the exhaust pressure (vacuum pressure) V1. Evacuation was performed at (vacuum pressure) V2 for a short period of time t2, and in the next stage (third stage), evacuation was performed at an evacuation pressure (vacuum pressure) V3 higher than evacuation pressure V2 until the end of exposure (t3).

[0008]

However, the conventional contact technology has the following problems. That is, when the elasticity of the sealing gaskets 53a and 53b forming the closed chamber deteriorates, the control conditions such as the exhaust pressure at each stage change, and it is necessary to change the control contents according to the change. . Front and back mask 5 in such a way that no air pockets occur
In order to bring 1a and 51b into close contact with the exposed member 6, 1
The evacuation time of the stage needs to be increased to some extent, and the time required for the entire surface to be in close contact becomes long. When the exhaust pressure is switched from the first exhaust pressure V1 to the second exhaust pressure V2, the exhaust pressure rapidly changes stepwise (digitally and discretely), so that the front and back masks 51a and 51b, the exposed member 6 In some cases, a shock is applied to the air, and air traps occur at the switching portion of the exhaust pressure. A similar problem occurs when switching from the second stage to the third stage. However, in this case, since 50% or more of the mask area is already in close contact, there is a low possibility that air will be trapped at the portion where the exhaust pressure is switched from the second stage to the third stage.

In order to remove the air trap at the portion where the exhaust pressure is switched, it is conceivable to lengthen the second stage exhaust time and the time from the start of the third stage exhaust to the start of exposure. This is contrary to the demand for shortening the required contact time. In addition, it is desired that the conventional required contact time of about 40 sec be reduced to 20 sec or less.

It is also conceivable that the number of stages of exhaust pressure change is increased to reduce the exhaust pressure difference between the stages so that the air reservoir itself is prevented from being generated as much as possible at the exhaust pressure switching portion. However, in the final stage, the degree of vacuum is about 70
Since it is necessary to exhaust the gas until the pressure becomes 0 mmHg, in this method, the number of switching stages of the exhaust pressure is increased, and it is necessary to control the exhaust pressure with high accuracy, resulting in an increase in cost. Even in this case, although the difference in exhaust pressure between the stages has decreased, the exhaust pressure still changes digitally,
It is difficult to completely prevent even the generation of a small air pocket, and in order to remove the air pocket, a certain amount of exhaust time is required in each stage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for adhering a photomask and a member to be exposed to each other by vacuum suction while reliably preventing the formation of air pockets. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to bring the entire surface of the photomask into close contact more quickly by controlling a constant exhaust pressure or the like.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a method for moving a frame for holding a photomask in a sealed room with a minute gap formed between the photomask and a member to be exposed. By forcibly restraining, by exhausting the air in the closed chamber in the movement restrained state, the photomask bends and starts to be brought into close contact with the exposed member from the center thereof, and thereafter, the movement of the frame is restrained. When released, the photomask that has been bent is restored to its original shape, so that the contact area with the member to be exposed gradually increases to the peripheral portion.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the photomask is bent so as to be brought into close contact with the member to be exposed from the center thereof, and then the bent photomask is brought into close contact with the member in the process of restoring to the original shape. Since the area is gradually expanded to the peripheral portion, the photomask comes into close contact with the exposed member in a constantly curved state, and the occurrence of air pockets is reliably prevented.

Further, most of the contact operation is performed in the process of restoring the photomask to its original shape, so that the entire surface of the photomask can be quickly brought into contact by controlling the constant exhaust pressure or the like.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall schematic configuration of a contact double-side exposure apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a rewinding machine equipped with a coil 3 of a strip-shaped metal thin plate made of stainless steel, steel plate, brass, aluminum or the like serving as a base member of a member to be exposed. Is given. The base member 2 unwound from the rewinding machine 1 is supplied to a tension leveler 4, and the tension leveler 4
Is applied repeatedly to correct the curl.

The base member 2 whose curl has been corrected is supplied to a resist coating device 5, which coats, for example, a negative type resist on the front and back surfaces of the base member 2. Is formed.

The exposed member 6 is step-transported to a baking furnace 7a for resist drying and a double-sided exposure section 8 by a roller-shaped transport mechanism 7 having an outer surface coated with a resin, for example. Then, the predetermined pattern P and the alignment mark M (see FIG. 3) are exposed by the double-sided exposure unit 8, and the resist layer is exposed.

The exposed member 6 is exposed to a double-sided exposure unit 8.
Is transported to a mark reader 9 disposed immediately after this, the alignment mark M exposed on the resist layer is read by the mark reader 9, and based on the read information, an optical system is And the relative position between the exposure target member 6 is performed.

A developing section 10 for developing the exposed member 6 is disposed downstream of the mark reader 9, and a developed section 6 is provided behind the developing section 10.
An etching unit 11 for etching the resist layer is provided, and a winder 12 is provided at a stage subsequent to the etching unit 11. The winder 12 is driven to rotate clockwise by controlling the drive of a drive motor 12b via a motor driver 12a by a control signal synchronized with a control signal of the transport mechanism 7 from the controller 30.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the double-sided exposure section 8 has a front mask 51a and a back mask 51, which are supported by a burning frame (frame) described later, at positions opposed to each other with the exposed member 6 interposed therebetween. 51b is arranged. The light source 1 is located on the side of the front mask 51a and the back mask 51b opposite to the member 6 to be exposed.
8a and 18b are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the front mask 51a has
A predetermined pattern P such as a circuit pattern is formed, and relatively wide L-shaped alignment marks FAM1 and FAM2 each having a light-transmitting property are provided at the center of the front and rear positions when viewed from a plane not facing the member 6 to be exposed. Is formed, and at least a peripheral portion thereof is an opaque portion.

As shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined pattern such as a circuit pattern is formed on the back mask 51b in the same manner as the front mask 51a, and corresponds to the alignment marks FAM1 and FAM2 of the front mask 51a. No light is transmitted to the position and the alignment marks FAM1, FAM
L-shaped alignment marks BAM1 and BAM2 selected to be narrower than AM2 are formed, and at least the peripheral portion thereof is a light-transmitting portion.

On the other hand, on the side of the back mask 51b of the double-sided exposure section 8, as shown in FIG.
1, light projecting elements 20a and 20b such as light emitting diodes are arranged at positions facing the FAM2 and BAM1 and BAM2 via convex lenses 19a and 19b, respectively.
Also, on the upper surface side of the front mask 51a facing these light projecting elements 20a and 20b, one-dimensional image sensors 23ax and 23ay as graphic reading elements are provided via convex lenses 21a and 21b and half mirrors 22a and 22b. 23bx and 23by are provided.

The image sensors 23ax, 23bx
Is the alignment mark FA of each mask 51a, 51b.
The image sensor 23 is arranged in parallel with the moving direction of the exposed member 6 so as to read a portion of M1, FAM1, and BAM1, BAM2 orthogonal to the moving direction of the exposed member 6.
ay, 23by are the alignment marks FAM1, FAM2, BAM1, BAM of the masks 51a, 51b.
In order to read a portion parallel to the moving direction of the exposed member 6, it is disposed orthogonal to the moving direction of the exposed member 6. Then, read information consisting of pulse outputs output from the image sensors 23ax, 23ay and 23bx, 23by is input to the controller 30, and the front mask 51a and the back mask 51b are aligned based on the read information. The controller 30 controls the exhaust pressure during the close contact operation and the actuator 5 as described later.
9a, 59b, 59c and 59d are also controlled.

Next, a contact exposure mechanism unique to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are a front view and a side view of the double-sided exposure unit 8, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the front and back frames 52a and 52b supporting the front and back masks 51a and 51b with the vacuum chuck are respectively the front and back tables Ta and T.
b. In addition, actuators 59a, 59 for positioning the start of exhaust are provided at the four corners of the table Ta.
b, 59c and 59d are provided. Further, stoppers 60 are provided at positions of the back table Tb facing the actuators 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d, respectively.
a, 60b, 60c, and 60d are provided. In addition,
As the actuators 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d, those whose drive shafts can withstand a pressing force of several hundred kg are used.

The base 61 is provided with two guide rails 62a and 62b.
On the lower side of Tb, there are four guide members 63aa to 63aa, respectively.
63ad and 63ba to 63bd are attached. Then, the guide members 63aa, 63ad, 63ba, 63
bd slidably straddles the guide rail 62a, and the guide members 63ab, 63ac, 63bb, 63bc are slidably straddle the guide rail 62b, and the front and back tables Ta, Tb are driven by a drive mechanism (not shown). By controlling the movement, it is possible to change the separation distance between the front and back frames 52a and 52b (that is, between the front and back masks 51a and 51b). In order to perform alignment between the front and back masks 51a and 51b and the exposed member 6, the front frame 52 of the front table Ta is required.
Either or both of the rear frame 52a and the rear frame 52b of the rear table Tb are configured to be finely movable in the XYθ directions by a predetermined drive mechanism (not shown).

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the contact mechanism. Note that the configuration of FIG. 6 has many parts in common with FIG. 12 described in the section of the prior art, and therefore, a supplementary explanation of the differences and items not described in the section of the prior art will be briefly provided here.

The actuators 59a, 59b, 59
c and 59d, when the front and back frames 52a and 52b are approached with the drive shafts protruding by a predetermined amount, when the shafts start to contact the stoppers 60a, 60b, 60c and 60d, they are closed. Packings 53a, 53b are also provided in such a positional relationship as to start contacting at the same time.

The evacuation is started from the time when the sealing packings 53a and 53b start to contact and the closed chamber L is formed. At the start of the evacuation, the front mask 51a and the exposed member 6, the back mask 51b and the exposed mask 51b are exposed. The distance from the member 6 is designed to be several mm. Further, even if the gas is exhausted at a high exhaust pressure, the actuator 59
a, 59b, 59c, 59d and stoppers 60a, 60
The movement of the front and back tables Ta and Tb, and hence the movement of the front and back frames 52a and 52b, is suppressed by b, 60c and 60d.

The material of the front and back masks 51a and 51b is glass in this embodiment, but the front and back masks 51a and 51b are used in the manufacturing process of a shadow mask and the like. The area is as large as about 1 m ² . The front and back masks 51a and 51b are
The edge of the side is configured to be vacuum-chucked by the front and back frames 52a and 52b.

That is, two chuck packings 54a and 55a are provided on the front frame 52a at a minute interval so that half of the diameter thereof is embedded. Similarly, two chuck packings 54b,
55b is provided at a minute interval so that half of its diameter is embedded. In the front frame 52a, a chuck exhaust port 57a is formed at a position between the two packings 54a, 55a.
Between the two packings for chucks 54b and 55b,
An exhaust port 57b for chuck is formed.

Therefore, when the front mask 51a is put on the front frame 52a via the packings 54a and 55a for chucks, the front mask 51a, the packings for chucks 54a and 55a, and the front frame 52 are placed on the four sides of the front frame 52a.
An elongated tubular closed space closed at a is formed. Similarly, the back mask 51b is attached to the chuck packings 54b, 5b.
When it is put on the back frame 52b via the back frame 5b, an elongated tubular closed space closed by the back mask 51b, the packings for chucks 54b and 55b, and the back frame 52b is formed on four sides of the back frame 52b. When air is exhausted from the chuck exhaust ports 57a and 57b in this state, the front and back masks 51a and 51b are adsorbed and supported by the front and back frames 52a and 52b, respectively. In this case, the front and back masks 51a and 51b are directly supported on the front and back frames 52a and 52b only at the four edges.
Most of the area is a free part that is not directly supported. In other words, the front and back masks 51a, 51
b is not in contact with the front and back frames 52a and 52b, but is mostly in contact only with the air. .

An exhaust pipe 64 is attached to the exhaust port 56 for close contact, and two exhaust ports 57a and 57b for chuck are provided.
Further, an exhaust pipe 65 having a rectangular shape is attached. This exhaust pipe 64
Is connected to a vacuum pump 67 via an electropneumatic regulator 66, and the exhaust pipe 65 is connected to a vacuum pump 6 via an electromagnetic valve 68.
7 is connected. Electro-pneumatic regulator 66 and solenoid valve 6
The controller 8 controls the electropneumatic regulator 66 and the solenoid valve 68 so that the controller 30 controls the electropneumatic regulator 66 and the solenoid valve 68 so that the exhaust pressure (vacuum) when exhausting from the contact exhaust port 56 and the chuck exhaust ports 57a and 57b is reduced. Pressure) is controlled.

Next, the contact operation unique to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

Exposed member 6, front and back masks 51a, 51
After performing the alignment correction between “b” and “b”, the mask 51
Tables Ta and Tb on the front and back with a and 51b set
Is driven to a position where the sealing packings 53a and 53b come into close contact with each other. At this time, the actuators 59a, 59b,
The drive shafts of 59c and 59d are made to project by a predetermined amount. Then, the actuators 59a, 59b, 59
c, 59d and the stoppers 60a, 60b, 60
c, 60d. In this contact state, as shown in FIG. 6, the sealing packings 53a and 53b are also in close contact with each other, so that a closed chamber L is formed. Table mask 5
A small gap of about several mm is formed between the exposure mask 1a and the exposure target member 6 and between the back mask 51b and the exposure target member 6, and the gap between the front mask 51a and the exposure target member 6, the back mask 51b and the exposure target The intervals between the members 6 are equal.

In this state, the controller 30 controls the electropneumatic regulator 66 to exhaust the air in the closed chamber L through the exhaust pipe 64. At this time, the controller 30
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the electropneumatic regulator 66 is controlled so that the exhaust pressure gradually increases. As described above, when the air in the closed chamber L is exhausted, the masks 51 on the front and back sides are removed.
7a and 5b are bent, and as shown in FIG. 7, they start to adhere from the central portion thereof, and as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the contact region gradually spreads to the peripheral portion. On this occasion,
Since the contact area smoothly spreads toward the peripheral portion, no air pool is generated in the process.

Here, this principle will be described. The front and back masks 51a and 51b are connected to the front and back frames 52a and 52b.
By b, it is supported in the form of a kind of both-end supporting beam. When the air in the closed chamber L is exhausted in this state, a force acts on the closed chamber L to reduce the volume.
However, the actuators 59a, 59b, 59c, 59
The d and the stoppers 60a, 60b, 60c, 60d prevent the front and back tables Ta, Tb, that is, the front and back frames 52a, 52b from approaching each other.

On the other hand, the front and back masks 51a and 51b supported in a state where both ends are supported are also subjected to a pressing force of about several hundred kg in a direction perpendicular to their surfaces. Therefore, the masks 51a and 51b on the front and back are bent during the process of forming a vacuum state by the exhaust. In such a situation, it is known that the position where the maximum deflection occurs is the center position of the front and back masks 51a and 51b. The masks 51a and 51b on the front and back are made of glass and have poor elasticity, but have a large area of about 1 m ² .
Small bending occurs without breaking.

The direction of the bending depends on the masks 51 on the front and back sides.
Both a and 51b are in the direction approaching the exposed member 6.
That is, the front mask 51a, the exposed member 6, and the back mask 5
A minute gap is formed between the member 1b and the exposed member 6 as described above. On the other hand, the region of the front mask 51a opposite to the member 6 to be exposed and the region of the back mask 51b opposite to the member 6 to be exposed are significantly larger spatial regions. Therefore, when the air is exhausted, the area of the gap between the front mask 51a and the exposed member 6, and the back mask 51b and the exposed member 6
In the area of the gap between the front mask 51a and the area on the opposite side of the exposed member 6 of the front mask 51a and the area of the back mask 51b on the opposite side of the exposed member 6, the flow velocity of the air is significantly higher. The force in the direction in which both the masks 51a and 51b approach the exposure target member 6 is significantly larger than the force in the opposite direction.
Therefore, the front and back masks 51a and 51b are
, And comes into close contact with the exposed member 6 from the central portion. In the initial stage of the close contact operation, the close contact area is small, and the front and back masks 51a and 51b are curved and widen the close contact area, so that there is almost no possibility that an air pocket is generated.

Thus, the front and back masks 51a, 51
When the contact area at the center of 1b becomes about 20 to 30%, the controller 30 controls the actuators 59a,
The drive shafts of 59b, 59c and 59d are shortened. Then, as shown in FIG. 8C, the bent front and back masks 51a and 51b return to their original shapes, and in the process of this return, the contact area further spreads to the peripheral portion, and the entire surface is brought into close contact. Becomes

Also in this case, since the contact region smoothly spreads from the central portion to the peripheral portion, no air pool is generated in the process. In addition, since the contact area is widened by the restoring force of the bent front and back masks 51a and 51b, the required contact time is very short. In addition, although it takes a certain amount of time in the stage of making the contact only by the exhaust pressure, the contact area to be brought into close contact only by the exhaust pressure is 20 to
Since it is about 30%, it is possible to shorten the time required for close contact also in this regard.

Next, the exhaust pressure control will be described. In the present embodiment, when the sealing gaskets 53a and 53b start to contact and the closed chamber L is formed, the suction is started. In this case, as shown in FIG.
In the first stage when the contact between the masks 3a and 3b starts, the exhaust pressure is gradually increased at a predetermined rising rate, and for example, the masks 51a and 51
At the time when the center of b starts to come into close contact with the member 6 to be exposed, the exhaust pressure is gradually increased at a higher rate than at the first stage, for example, when the drive shafts of the actuators 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d are shortened. Thus, the exhaust pressure is smoothly increased by gradually increasing the exhaust pressure at a higher rate than the previous stage.

In this case, the reason why the exhaust pressure is gradually increased in the second stage at a higher rate than in the first stage is that the masks 51a on the front and back sides,
This is because, after the central portion of the member 51b is in close contact with the exposed member 6, a large suction force is required to increase the contact area. The exhaust pressure was gradually increased at the third stage at a higher rate than the second stage for the following reason. That is, when the drive shafts of the actuators 59a, 59b, 59c, and 59d are shortened, and the masks 51a and 51b on the front and back sides that have been bent up to that time return to the original shape, the contact area rapidly increases. . At this time, the front and back masks 51a,
Since the curved portion 51b sequentially comes into contact with the peripheral portion from the central portion, the possibility of air accumulation is extremely low. However, when the speed of expanding the contact area is extremely high as compared with the flow velocity of the air due to the exhaust, it is not always the case that there is no possibility that air pools will occur. Therefore, in order to more reliably prevent the generation of air pockets, the exhaust pressure is gradually increased even at the third stage at a higher rate than at the second stage.

In the present embodiment, the exhaust pressure is increased smoothly without increasing stepwise (discretely or digitally) as in the prior art. Needless to say, no air pool is generated at the switching portion.

[Application Modification of Exhaust Pressure Rise Control] In order to smoothly increase the exhaust pressure, the exhaust pressure rise control may be performed as shown in FIGS.

That is, in FIG.
In the first stage where the contact between the masks 3a and 53b starts, the exhaust pressure is gradually increased at a predetermined rate of increase, and
At the time when the central portions of the members a and 51b start to come into close contact with the member 6 to be exposed, the gas is evacuated at a constant exhaust pressure for a certain period of time, and in the third stage thereafter, the rate of increase in the exhaust pressure is gradually increased. In this case, when the contact area is increased to about 20 to 30% by the third stage exhaust pressure rise, the actuators 59a, 59b,
What is necessary is just to shorten the drive shaft of 59c, 59d.

In FIG. 11, the sealing gaskets 53a, 53
In the first stage where b starts to contact, the exhaust pressure is gradually increased at a predetermined rate of rise, for example, the masks 51a and 51b on the front and back sides.
When the central portion of the substrate starts to be in close contact with the member 6 to be exposed, the gas is exhausted at a constant exhaust pressure for a certain period of time, and in the third stage thereafter, the increasing rate of the exhaust pressure is gradually increased to enlarge the contact area. When the contact area is increased to about 20 to 30%, the drive shafts of the actuators 59a, 59b, 59c, and 59d are shortened, and exhaust is performed at the maximum exhaust pressure after a lapse of a minute time. In this case, when shifting from the third stage to the fourth stage, the exhaust pressure changes abruptly, but before the entire surface has been brought into close contact, air traps due to the impact as in the conventional example occur. I will not do it. In addition, since the exposure is performed while performing the exhaust at the maximum exhaust pressure, the adhesion at the time of the exposure is stabilized.

In the second stage of the examples shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the gas is exhausted at a constant exhaust pressure for a constant time for the following reason. That is, when the central portions of the front and back masks 51a and 51b start to be in close contact with the member 6 to be exposed, the contact area is small, and the front and back masks 51a and 51b are curved and the contact area is widened, so that air pockets are formed. It is unlikely to happen. However, the front and back masks 51a, 51
b, It is not always the case that air pockets are generated due to minute scratches on the surface of the member 6 to be exposed. To prevent this, the occurrence of air pockets is more reliably prevented by evacuating at a constant exhaust pressure for a fixed time.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the front mask 51 a, the exposed member 6, and the back mask 5
The front and back frames 5 for holding the front and back masks 51a and 51b in a state where a minute gap is formed between the exposure member 6 and the exposed member 6.
By forcibly restraining the movement of 2a, 52b, and exhausting the air in the closed chamber in the movement restrained state, the masks 51a, 51b on the front and back are bent to start contacting the exposed member 6 from the center, and thereafter By releasing the movement inhibition of the front and back frames 52a and 52b, the area of close contact with the exposed member 6 is gradually expanded to the peripheral portion in the process of restoring the bent front and back masks 51a and 51b. .

Therefore, the front and back masks 51a and 51b are
Since the member 6 is always in a curved state and comes into close contact with the member to be exposed 6, the occurrence of an air pocket is reliably prevented. Most of the close contact operation is performed in the process of restoring the front and back masks 51a and 51b to the original shape, so that the entire surface of the front and back masks 51a and 51b can be quickly exposed by controlling the constant exhaust pressure or the like. Can be adhered to. In the present embodiment, the time required for close contact was conventionally reduced from 40 sec to about 20 sec, which is half.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be applied not only to a double-sided contact exposure apparatus but also to a single-sided contact exposure apparatus. Further, the photomask is not limited to a glass mask, and may be applied to a film mask having strong elasticity (rich in flexibility). Thus, when the present invention is applied to a film mask, the time required for close contact can be significantly reduced.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Forcibly inhibiting the movement of the frame for holding the photomask in a state where a minute gap is formed between the photomask and the member to be exposed in the closed chamber, and exhausting the air in the closed chamber in the movement inhibited state. In the process of bending the photomask and starting to adhere to the exposed member from the center thereof at the center thereof, and then canceling the movement inhibition of the frame, the bent photomask is restored to its original shape. Since the contact area with the member to be exposed is configured to gradually expand to the peripheral portion, when the photomask and the member to be exposed are brought into close contact with each other by vacuum suction, while reliably preventing the occurrence of air pockets, By controlling the constant exhaust pressure or the like, the entire surface of the photomask can be more quickly brought into close contact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a contact double-sided exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an optical system of a double-side exposure unit of the contact double-side exposure apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an alignment mark of the contact double-side exposure apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a double-sided exposure section of the contact double-sided exposure apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a double-sided exposure section of the contact double-sided exposure apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a contact mechanism of the contact double-side exposure apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the masks on the front and back sides have been bent by the above-mentioned adhesion mechanism and have begun to adhere to a member to be exposed;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state where the contact area between the front and back masks and the member to be exposed is increased by the contact mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a first example of exhaust pressure control in the contact mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of exhaust pressure control in the contact mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a third example of exhaust pressure control in the contact mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional contact mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing exhaust pressure control in a conventional contact mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6: Exposed member 30: Controller 51a: Front mask 51b: Back mask 51a: Front frame 51b: Back frame 53a, 53b: Sealing packing 54a, 54b, 55a, 55b: Chuck packing 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d: Actuator 60a, 60b, 60c, 60d: Stopper 65: Solenoid valve 66: Electropneumatic regulator 67: Vacuum pump L: Sealed chamber Ta, Tb: Table

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A movement of a frame for holding a photomask is forcibly suppressed in a state where a minute gap is formed between a photomask and a member to be exposed in a closed chamber. By evacuating air, the photomask bends and starts to come into close contact with the member to be exposed from the central portion thereof, and then the movement suppression of the frame is released, so that the bent photomask has its original shape. A contact area in the contact exposure apparatus, wherein a contact area with the member to be exposed is gradually expanded to a peripheral portion in a process of restoring the contact member.