JP2002040626A - Method for inspecting conductor pattern, and method for manufacturing optoelectric device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for inspecting conductive patterns which is capable of rapidly detecting pattern defects of conductive parts, even when forming the conductive parts of narrow gaps between the patterns. SOLUTION: Two or more sheets of substrates, to be inspected which are formed with photoresist of prescribed patterns and are then formed with the a of the prescribed patterns after the end of development (step S14) of the photoresist are subjected to inspection (step S15) of the conductive patterns, by using an automatic pattern defect inspecting apparatus. When the defects are detected at the same coordinates for 2 or more sheets of the substrates to be inspected by using the automatic pattern defect inspecting apparatus, the defects of the 2 or more sheets of the substrates to be inspected are observed (step S16) by a microscope. If the shapes of the defects are the same or similar, the defects are fed back to an exposure process step, and the cleaning at the pattern defective points of a photomask is carried out and the causative substances of the pattern defects sticking to the photomask are removed (step S17).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for inspecting a conductor pattern and a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, and more particularly to a technique for detecting a pattern defect in a conductor portion such as an electrode and a wiring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique will be described by taking a liquid crystal device as a typical example of an electro-optical device as an example.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic sectional structure of a general simple matrix type liquid crystal device 100, and the structure of the liquid crystal device will be described.

As shown in FIG. 10, a substrate (lower substrate) 1
01 and an opposing substrate (upper substrate) 102 are adhered at predetermined intervals at a peripheral portion of each substrate via a sealant 104, and a liquid crystal layer 103 is interposed between the substrate 101 and the opposing substrate 102.
Is pinched. On the surfaces of the substrate 101 and the counter substrate 102 on the liquid crystal layer 103 side, the electrodes 1 are formed in stripes, respectively.
And an alignment film 10 for aligning the liquid crystal in a predetermined direction on the surfaces of the electrodes 105 and.
7, 108 are formed.

In the liquid crystal device 100, the electrodes 105, 1
06 are formed to cross each other. Also, between the alignment films 107 and 108, a number of spherical spacers 109 are arranged in order to make the cell gap of the liquid crystal cell uniform. Although not shown, the substrate 10
1. Optical elements such as a polarizing plate and a retardation plate are attached to the outside of the counter substrate 102.

Next, the electrode 105 of the liquid crystal device 100
The method for forming (106) will be described.

After a conductive film made of indium tin oxide or the like is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 101 (counter substrate 102), a predetermined photoresist is applied on the entire surface of the conductive film, and the electrodes 105 (106) After exposing the photoresist using the photomask on which the pattern of (1) is formed, the photoresist is developed to form a photoresist of a predetermined pattern. Next, the conductive film is etched into a predetermined pattern, and the photoresist is removed, whereby the electrode 105 (106) having a predetermined pattern is formed.

An electrode 1 is formed using a positive photoresist.
In the case of forming 05 (106), the photoresist of the unexposed portion remains after development, but if dust or dirt is attached to the photomask, the area of the unexposed portion becomes large. The photoresist which is originally removed remains, and the electrode 105 (1
06) may be short-circuited.

Further, using a negative type photoresist,
When the electrode 105 (106) is formed, the exposed portion of the photoresist remains after development, but if dust or dirt adheres to the photomask, the area of the exposed portion is reduced. The originally remaining photoresist is removed, and the electrode 105 (10
There is a risk that the pattern 6) may be lost due to loss.

Therefore, when the electrodes 105 (106) are formed, two substrates 101 (counter substrates 102)
After inspecting the pattern (electrode pattern) of the electrodes 105 (106) for the
(106) is being formed.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a conventional method for inspecting an electrode pattern. The conventional method for inspecting an electrode pattern will be described with reference to FIG.

[0012] Formation of a conductive film (step S101), application of a photoresist (step S102), exposure of the photoresist (step S103), development of the photoresist (step S104), etching of the conductive film and stripping of the photoresist (step S101) After the electrodes of a predetermined pattern are formed after S105), the electrode patterns are inspected on the two substrates on which the electrodes are formed (step S1).
06).

Inspection of an electrode pattern is performed by bringing two probes into contact with two adjacent electrodes and detecting a voltage difference or a current difference between the two electrodes brought into contact with the probes. . FIG. 12 shows a schematic plan structure of a part of the electrode 105 formed on the substrate 101, and a method of inspecting an electrode pattern will be described by taking an example of a method of inspecting a pattern of the electrode 105.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the inspection of the electrode pattern, two probes 150a and 150 having a relative positional relationship defined so as to contact two adjacent electrodes 105 are used.
b, the probes 150a and 150b were brought into contact with each other.
The detection is performed by detecting a voltage difference or a current difference between the electrodes 105. As shown in FIG. 12, the probes 150a and 150b are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the electrodes 105 from the left to the right in the drawing. The inspection is performed while moving in parallel, thereby inspecting the patterns of all the electrodes 105.

As described above, the inspection of the electrode pattern is performed,
When defects are found at different positions on the two substrates or when no defects are found on any of the substrates, it is necessary that dust or dirt does not adhere to the surface of the photomask used in the exposure process. Judge and start mass production flow (continuous production).

On the other hand, if a defect is found at the same position on the two substrates, the defect is a pattern defect caused by dust or dirt adhering to the photomask used in the exposure step. And feedback to the exposure process to clean the photomask pattern defect location,
A substance causing a pattern defect such as dust or dirt attached to the photomask is removed (step S107). After the cleaning of the photomask, mass production of products (continuous production) is started.

[0017]

Conventionally, since the electrode pattern is electrically inspected as described above, the conductive film is etched and the photoresist is removed (step S10).
After the step 5), an electrode pattern cannot be inspected unless an electrode having a predetermined pattern is formed. In particular, when an electrode pattern having a narrow gap between adjacent electrode patterns is formed, it takes a long time to perform an electrical inspection of the electrode pattern.

Therefore, when a pattern defect occurs due to dust or dirt attached to the photomask, there is a problem that feedback to the exposure process is delayed. The time required from the end of the development of the photoresist (step S104) to the end of the inspection of the electrode pattern (step S106) is about one hour, and the inspection of the electrode pattern takes a long time, resulting in a reduction in the production efficiency of the liquid crystal device. There is a problem that it decreases.

The above problem is not limited to a simple matrix type liquid crystal device, but is a problem of TFD (Thin Film Diod).
e) A two-terminal element represented by an element or a TFT (Thi
n This is a problem that occurs in all liquid crystal devices, such as a liquid crystal device using a three-terminal element represented by a film transistor, and similarly occurs when a conductor such as an electrode or a wiring is formed in a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device. It is a problem.

The above problem is not limited to the liquid crystal device, but is applied to an electro-optical device such as an electroluminescent device or a plasma display having a structure in which two substrates sandwiching an electro-optical material layer are adhered at a predetermined interval. Is also a problem.

Furthermore, the above problem is not limited to the electro-optical device, but occurs in any substrate provided with a conductor such as an electrode or a wiring.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides a conductor pattern inspection method capable of quickly detecting a pattern defect in a conductor portion even when a conductor portion having a narrow gap between patterns is formed. The purpose is to:

Further, even in the case of manufacturing an electro-optical device having a conductor portion having a narrow gap between patterns, an electro-optical device capable of quickly detecting pattern defects in the conductor portion and improving production efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing the same.

[0024]

As a result of various studies conducted by the present inventor to solve the above-mentioned problems, it has been found that a pattern defect of a fine pattern can be detected even when a conductor having a narrow gap between patterns is formed. By performing inspection using a possible automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus, after developing the photoresist, it was found that pattern defects can be predicted and corrected, and according to this method, before forming a conductor pattern, Since the pattern defect can be inspected, it has been found that the pattern defect of the conductor can be quickly detected.

That is, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the means taken by the present invention include, in a conductor pattern inspection method, a step of forming a conductive film on a substrate, a step of applying a photoresist on the conductive film, A step of exposing the photoresist, a step of developing the photoresist, and
A step of inspecting the pattern of the photoresist.

When it is determined from the result of the inspection that there is a pattern defect, the pattern defect is caused by dust or dirt adhering to the surface of the photomask used in the exposure step. The method further comprises a step of performing exposure of the photoresist, or a step of feeding back to a previous step and removing a substance causing a pattern defect such as dust or dirt attached to the photomask. .

When a pattern defect of the photoresist is detected at the same position on two or more substrates,
It is characterized in that it is determined that a photomask used for exposing the photoresist has a pattern defect.

Further, when performing inspection using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus, a particle defect caused by dust or the like adhering to the substrate is also recognized as a pattern defect, so that two or more substrates have the same shape. Alternatively, when a similar pattern defect of the photoresist is detected, it is determined that a photomask used for exposing the photoresist has a pattern defect.

In the conductor pattern inspection method of the present invention, when dust or dirt is attached to the photomask, a pattern defect having basically the same shape as the dust or dirt attached to the photomask. Are formed on the substrate, but the outline may be slightly blurred or the position of the outline may be slightly shifted depending on the exposure conditions. Therefore, the present invention defines such a case as having a similar defect shape.

Further, the conductor pattern inspection method of the present invention using the automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus is a method capable of inspecting when the conductor pattern is composed of a repetitive pattern.
This is effective as an inspection method of an electrode or wiring pattern having a repetitive pattern.

The above-described method for inspecting a conductor pattern according to the present invention can be applied to a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device.

According to a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device having a substrate on which a conductive pattern is formed, wherein a step of forming a conductive film on the substrate, a step of forming a photoresist on the conductive film , A step of exposing the photoresist, a step of developing the photoresist, and a step of inspecting the pattern of the photoresist.

When it is determined from the result of the inspection that there is a pattern defect, the pattern defect is caused by dust or dirt adhering to the surface of the photomask used in the exposure step. The method further comprises a step of performing exposure of the photoresist, or a step of feeding back to a previous step and removing a substance causing a pattern defect such as dust or dirt attached to the photomask. .

When a pattern defect of the photoresist is detected at the same position on two or more substrates,
It is characterized in that it is determined that a photomask used for exposing the photoresist has a pattern defect.

Further, when an inspection is performed by using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus, a particle defect is also recognized as a pattern defect. Therefore, a pattern defect of the photoresist having the same shape or a similar shape is obtained for two or more substrates. When it is detected, it is determined that the photomask used for exposing the photoresist has a pattern defect.

According to the method of manufacturing an electro-optical device of the present invention, even when a conductor having a narrow gap between patterns is formed, the inspection is performed using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus capable of detecting a pattern defect of a fine pattern. By doing so, pattern defects can be predicted and corrected after the development of the photoresist, so that pattern defects can be inspected before forming a conductor pattern, and pattern defects in the conductor portion can be quickly detected. be able to.

Therefore, according to the method of manufacturing an electro-optical device of the present invention, even when an electro-optical device having a conductor portion having a narrow gap between patterns is manufactured, a pattern defect in the conductor portion can be quickly detected. And production efficiency can be improved.

[0038]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a liquid crystal device which is an example of an electro-optical device will be described with respect to an embodiment according to the present invention.
This will be described in detail.

The structure of a simple matrix type liquid crystal (display) device 10 manufactured by the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a liquid crystal device 10, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the structure of the lower substrate, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the structure of a No. 0 upper substrate. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view when the liquid crystal device 10 is cut along the line AA ′ in FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIGS. 1 to 3, the scale of each layer and each member is different from the actual one in order to make each layer and each member have a size recognizable in the drawings.

1 to 3, the display area (pixel area) of the liquid crystal device 10 is indicated by reference numeral 30. Liquid crystal device 1
At 0, the area outside the display area 30 is a non-display area.

First, the sectional structure of the liquid crystal device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate (lower substrate) 11 and a counter substrate (upper substrate) 12 made of glass, plastic film, or the like are arranged at predetermined intervals at a peripheral portion of each substrate via a sealing material 14. Affixed, substrate 11,
A liquid crystal layer (electro-optical material layer) 13 is sandwiched between the opposing substrates 12.

On the surface of the substrate 11 on the liquid crystal layer 13 side,
At least in the display area 30, a plurality of electrodes (conductor portions) 17 made of indium tin oxide or the like are formed in a stripe shape. On the surface of the electrode 17, an alignment film 19 made of polyimide or the like for aligning the liquid crystal is formed.

On the surface of the counter substrate 12 on the side of the liquid crystal layer 13, at least the display region 30 has a plurality of electrodes (conductor portions) 1 made of indium tin oxide or the like in a stripe shape.
8 is formed, and an alignment film 20 made of polyimide or the like is formed on the surface of the electrode 18.

In the liquid crystal device 10, the electrodes 17 and 18 are formed so as to cross each other. Also, electrode 1
One end of each of the wirings 7 and 18 has a wiring 17a to be described later,
18a is connected.

In the liquid crystal device 10, the alignment film 1
Numerous spherical spacers 21 made of silicon dioxide, polystyrene, or the like are arranged between 9 and 20 to make the cell gap of the liquid crystal cell uniform.

Further, optical elements such as a retardation plate and a polarizing plate are formed outside the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12.
It is omitted in the drawings.

Next, the liquid crystal device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer peripheral portions of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12 are non-display areas, and the inner side thereof is the display area 30. Outside the display area 30, the sealing material 14 is provided on the periphery of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12.
Are formed, but are omitted in the drawings for simplicity.

The electrodes 17 and 18 formed in the display area 30
Are provided at one end thereof with wirings 17a and 18a, respectively.
Is connected. The routing wirings 17 a and 18 a are provided on the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12 outside the display area 30 (that is, in the non-display area).

As shown in FIG. 2, the lead-out wiring 17a is formed on the surface of the substrate 11 in two regions on the left and right sides of the display region 30 in the drawing. Routing wiring 17
The area where a is formed is referred to as wiring areas 31a and 31b. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the routing wiring 18 a is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 12 in a region below the display region 30 in the drawing. The area where the wiring 18a is formed is referred to as a wiring area 32. Electrodes 17, 18
Are connected to external connection terminals via routing wirings 17a and 18a, respectively. Since the process of mounting the liquid crystal device 10 on an electronic device is facilitated, it is preferable that the external connection terminal portion is provided only on the surface of one substrate.

As an example, the external connection terminal portion is connected to the counter substrate 1.
2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper electrode (1
8) external connection terminal section 35, and a lower electrode (1
7) An external connection terminal section 36 is provided. The lower electrode external connection terminal section 36 is connected to the wiring area 31a, 3
1b, it is provided in two places.

The wiring 18a is connected to the external connection terminal 35 for the upper electrode, and the electrode 18 is connected to the external connection terminal 35 via the wiring 18a. on the other hand,
The routing wiring 17a is connected to a conductive member 34 provided between the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12. Conductive member 34
Corresponds to the routing wiring areas 31a and 31b,
It is provided in two places. The conductive member 34 is made of a conductive material including conductive particles formed by coating a plastic ball with nickel or the like and a binder (a thermosetting resin, a photocurable resin, or the like).
Is electrically connected to a lower electrode external connection terminal portion 36 provided on the surface of the lower electrode. The electrode 17 is connected to an external connection terminal portion 36 through a wiring 17 a and a conductive member 34.

Next, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 10 of the present embodiment will be described.

When the liquid crystal device 10 is manufactured, in order to perform mass production, the liquid crystal device 10 is manufactured using two substrate base materials from which a plurality of substrates 11 and opposing substrates 12 can be cut out. In the substrate base material, regions that are finally cut out to become the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12 are referred to as a substrate formation region and a counter substrate formation region, respectively. In this embodiment,
Only the substrate forming region is formed on one substrate base material, and only the opposing substrate forming region is formed on the other substrate base material.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show schematic plan structures of the two substrate base materials after the electrodes are formed, and show examples of the layout of the substrate formation region and the counter substrate formation region. 4 (a) and 4 (b), reference numerals 41 and 42 denote substrate preforms on which only the substrate forming region 11a and only the opposing substrate forming region 12a are formed, respectively. The layout of the substrate formation region 11a and the counter substrate formation region 12a shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the electrode 17 is formed in each substrate formation region 11a of the substrate preform 41, and the electrode 18 is formed in each counter substrate formation region 12a of the substrate preform 42. Next, alignment films 19 and 20 are formed in each of the substrate formation region 11a and the counter substrate formation region 12a. The method for forming the electrodes 17 and 18 and the method for inspecting the electrode pattern (conductor pattern) of the present embodiment will be described later in detail.

Next, two liquid crystal cells are adhered to each other through the sealing material 14 so that the two substrate preforms 41 and 42 are opposed to each other on the substrate forming area 11a and each opposing substrate forming area 12a. A liquid crystal cell base material including the same is formed.

Next, the liquid crystal cell base material is cut into strip-shaped liquid crystal cell base materials in which liquid crystal cells are arranged in a horizontal line, and liquid crystal is injected into each liquid crystal cell of the liquid crystal cell base material by a vacuum injection method or the like. Thus, the liquid crystal layer 13 is formed.

Next, the liquid crystal cell base material is cut into individual liquid crystal cells. At this time, the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12 are cut out. Finally, an optical element such as a retardation plate or a polarizing plate is attached to the outside of the substrate 11 and the opposing substrate 12 so that the liquid crystal device 10
Is manufactured.

Here, the method of forming the electrodes (conductor portions) 17 (18) will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (f).

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a sputtering method is applied to the entire surface of the substrate base material 41 (42).
After forming a transparent conductive film 27 (28) made of indium tin oxide or the like by a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method or the like, the substrate base material 41 (42) is washed.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A predetermined photoresist 25 is applied on the entire surface of the transparent conductive film 27 (28) formed on the first (42).

Next, as shown in FIG.
The photoresist 25 is exposed using the photomask 26 on which the pattern (18) is formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5D, the photoresist 25 is developed to form a photoresist 25 having a predetermined pattern. Thereafter, an inspection of the electrode pattern (conductor pattern) is performed. An inspection method of the electrode pattern (conductor pattern) of the present embodiment will be described later.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, the transparent conductive film 27 (28) is etched into a predetermined pattern, and finally, as shown in FIG. Thereby, a predetermined pattern of the electrodes 17 (18) is formed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, electrodes (conductor portions) 17 and 18 formed on the substrate base material 41 (42).
The method for inspecting a conductor pattern according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the pattern inspection method described above. Note that the substrate preforms 41 and 42 are referred to as inspected substrates.

In this embodiment, after the development of the photoresist, the conductor pattern is inspected by inspecting the photoresist pattern using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus.

The automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus is an apparatus capable of automatically detecting a defect in a repetitive pattern. The automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus digitally processes an image of an adjacent repetitive pattern and compares the digitized images. This is a device that detects a portion where a difference occurs in a defect as a defect.

Therefore, in this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), on the substrate base material 41 (42),
Since only the electrode 17 (only the electrode 18) is repeatedly formed in the same direction, the pattern of all the electrodes 17 (18) on the surface of the substrate preform 41 (42) is collectively collected by using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus. Can be inspected.

When performing inspection using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus, a particle defect caused by dust or the like adhering to a substrate to be inspected is also recognized as a pattern defect. If a defect is detected at the same coordinates (position) on two or more substrates to be inspected using a defect inspection device, the inspector observes the defect with a microscope and if the defect shape is the same or similar, Then, it is determined that there is a pattern defect due to dust or dirt adhering to the photomask.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for inspecting a conductor pattern according to the present embodiment, and the method for inspecting a conductor pattern according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, a conductive film is formed (Step S11), and a photoresist is applied (Step S1).
2) After exposing the photoresist (Step S13) and developing the photoresist (Step S14) to form a photoresist of a predetermined pattern, two or more substrates having the photoresist of the predetermined pattern formed thereon are formed. The inspection pattern is used to inspect the conductor pattern using an automatic pattern defect inspection device (step S15). The structure of the automatic pattern defect inspection device will be described later.

When no defect is detected at the same coordinates for two or more substrates to be inspected by using the automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus, the flow of mass-produced products (continuous production) is started.

If two or more substrates to be inspected are detected at the same coordinates using the automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus, the defects of the two or more substrates to be inspected are observed with a microscope (step S16). If the shapes of the defects are different, the flow of mass-produced products (continuous production) is started.

The defects of two or more substrates to be inspected are observed with a microscope (Step S16), and if the shapes of the defects are the same or similar, the defects are found on the surface of the photomask used in the exposure step. It is determined that the defect is a pattern defect caused by the attachment of dust or dirt, and is fed back to the exposure step or a step before that. Then, a pattern defect portion of the photomask is cleaned to remove a substance causing the pattern defect such as dust and dirt attached to the photomask (step S17).

For example, by rubbing the photomask with a cloth, washing the photomask with water or the like, or spraying a gas on the photomask, a substance causing a pattern defect such as dust or dirt attached to the photomask is removed. can do.

After the pattern defect portion of the photomask is cleaned and the substance causing the pattern defect such as dust and dirt attached to the photomask is removed (step S17), the flow of mass-produced products (continuous production) is started.

In the above conductor pattern inspection step,
After the development of the photoresist (Step S14) is completed, the inspection by the automatic pattern defect inspection device (Step S1)
The time required to complete 5) and the microscopic observation (step S16) is about 20 minutes.

Here, the structure of the automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus suitable for use in the conductor pattern inspection method of the present embodiment, and the structure of the automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus 50 will be described.

The automatic pattern defect device 50 compares the digitized image of an adjacent pattern with an image pickup section 51 composed of a camera or the like for picking up a pattern, and detects a portion where an image difference occurs as a defect. The unit 52 is mainly configured.

In FIG. 7, reference numerals 57 and 58 indicate lenses, and reference numerals 59, 60, 61, 62 and 63 indicate reflection mirrors.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 56 denotes a slit. Although not shown in the figure below the slit 56, a substrate stage for mounting a substrate to be inspected is provided. The pattern to be inspected is inspected by placing the substrate to be inspected on the substrate stage and horizontally moving the substrate stage in a certain direction.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a light source. Light emitted from the light source 53 passes through the filter 54, is reflected by the half mirror 55, and irradiates the surface of the substrate to be inspected located immediately below the slit 56. It has a structure. In addition,
In the automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus 50, a reflection mirror 64 having a concave curved surface is provided to efficiently irradiate the light of the light source 53 to the slit 56.

A part of the light applied to the surface of the substrate to be inspected located immediately below the slit 56 passes through the filter 54, the half mirror 55, the lens 57, and the reflection mirrors 59, 62, 63. And is guided to the detection unit 52. In addition, part of the light emitted to the surface of the substrate to be inspected located immediately below the slit 56 is transmitted through the lens 58, reflected by the reflection mirrors 60 and 61, and guided to the imaging unit 51. I have.

By moving the substrate stage in a certain direction, the image pickup unit 51 picks up an image of the pattern of the substrate to be inspected located immediately below the slit 56 while moving the substrate to be inspected in a certain direction. The pattern of the substrate to be inspected can be inspected by comparing the digitized images of the adjacent patterns in the unit 52 and detecting a portion where the image has a difference as a defect.

According to the conductor pattern inspection method of the present embodiment, even when a conductor portion having a narrow inter-pattern gap is formed, the inspection is performed using an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus capable of detecting a fine pattern pattern defect. By doing so, it is possible to predict and correct pattern defects after developing the photoresist, so that the conductor patterns can be inspected before forming the conductor patterns, and the pattern defects in the conductor portion can be quickly detected. be able to.

Further, by using the conductor pattern inspection method of the present embodiment, even when manufacturing a liquid crystal device having a conductor portion having a narrow gap between patterns, it is possible to quickly inspect a conductor portion for a pattern defect. And production efficiency can be improved.

In the present embodiment, only a simple matrix type liquid crystal device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a TFD (Thin Film Diode) may be used.
ode) device and TFT (Thin Fi)
The present invention can be applied to any liquid crystal device such as an active matrix type liquid crystal device using a three-terminal type device represented by a lm transistor (transistor) element. It can be applied when forming a conductor such as an electrode.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a liquid crystal device. For example, an electro-optical device having a structure in which a conductive pattern is formed, such as an electro-optical device having a structure in which two substrates sandwiching an electro-optical material layer are adhered at a predetermined interval. The present invention can also be applied to electro-optical devices such as luminescence and plasma displays.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the electro-optical device, and can be applied to any substrate having a conductor such as an electrode or a wiring.

Next, a specific example of an electronic apparatus including the liquid crystal device 10 manufactured according to the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 8A, reference numeral 300 denotes a mobile phone main body, and reference numeral 301 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal device 10 described above.

FIG. 8B is a perspective view showing an example of a portable information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer. Fig. 8 (b)
In the figure, 400 is an information processing apparatus, 401 is an input unit such as a keyboard, 403 is an information processing main body, and 402 is a liquid crystal display unit having the liquid crystal device 10.

FIG. 8C is a perspective view showing an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device. In FIG. 8C, reference numeral 500 denotes a watch main body, and reference numeral 501 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal device 10 described above.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of a projection display device using the liquid crystal device 10 as a light modulation device. In FIG. 9, 610 is a light source, 613 and 614 are dichroic mirrors, 615, 616 and 617 are reflection mirrors, 618 is an incident lens, 619 is a relay lens,
620, an exit lens; 622, 623, 624, a liquid crystal light modulator; 625, a cross dichroic prism;
26 denotes a projection lens. The light source 610 includes a lamp 611 such as a metal halide and a reflector 6 that reflects light from the lamp.
It consists of 12. The dichroic mirror 613 that reflects blue light and green light transmits red light of the light flux from the light source 610 and reflects blue light and green light.
The transmitted red light is reflected by the reflection mirror 617 and is incident on the liquid crystal light modulation device 622 for red light. On the other hand, green light among the color lights reflected by the dichroic mirror 613 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 614 that reflects green light, and is incident on the liquid crystal light modulation device 623 for green light. On the other hand, the blue light also passes through the second dichroic mirror 614. For blue light, in order to prevent light loss due to a long optical path, a light guide means 62 composed of a relay lens system including an incident lens 618, a relay lens 619, and an emission lens 620.
1 is provided, through which blue light is incident on the liquid crystal light modulator for blue light 624. The three color lights modulated by the respective light modulators are cross dichroic prisms 625.
Incident on. This prism is formed by bonding four right-angle prisms, and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects red light and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects blue light are formed in a cross shape on the inner surface. The three color lights are combined by these dielectric multilayer films to form light representing a color image. The combined light is projected on a screen 627 by a projection lens 626, which is a projection optical system, and an image is enlarged and displayed.

Each of the electronic devices shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C and 9 includes the liquid crystal device 10 described above.
Production efficiency is improved.

[0098]

As described above, according to the conductor pattern inspection method of the present invention, even when a conductor portion having a narrow inter-pattern gap is formed, an automatic pattern defect capable of detecting a fine pattern defect can be detected. By performing inspection using an inspection apparatus, pattern defects can be predicted and corrected after the development of the photoresist, so that pattern defects can be inspected before forming a conductor pattern, and the pattern of the conductor portion can be inspected. Defects can be detected quickly.

Also, by applying the conductor pattern inspection method of the present invention to an electro-optical device manufacturing method, even when an electro-optical device having a conductor portion with a narrow gap between patterns is manufactured, pattern defects can be quickly eliminated. Inspection can be performed, and the production efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a simple matrix type liquid crystal device manufactured by a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a structure of a lower substrate of a simple matrix type liquid crystal device manufactured by a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a structure of an upper substrate of a simple matrix type liquid crystal device manufactured by a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic plan views showing an example of a layout of a substrate forming region and a counter substrate forming region of a substrate base material used in the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIGS. 5A to 5F are process diagrams showing a method of forming an electrode (conductive portion) in the method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a conductor pattern inspection method according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a structure of an automatic pattern defect inspection apparatus suitable for use in the conductor pattern inspection method of the present embodiment.

8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a mobile phone including the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a portable type including the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the embodiment. FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing device, and FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device including the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a main part of a projection display device using the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the above-described embodiment as a light modulation device.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing a structure of a general simple matrix type liquid crystal device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a conventional electrode pattern inspection method.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a conventional electrode pattern inspection method.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 liquid crystal (display) device (electro-optical device) 11 substrate (lower substrate) 12 opposing substrate (upper substrate) 13 liquid crystal layer (electro-optical material layer) 14 sealing material 17, 18 electrode (conductor portion) 17a, 18a Wiring 27, 28 Transparent conductive film 19, 20 Alignment film 21 Spacer 30 Display area (pixel area) 31a, 31b, 32 Routing wiring area 34 Conducting member 35 Upper electrode external connection terminal section 36 Lower electrode external connection Terminal unit 50 Automatic pattern defect inspection device 51 Imaging unit 52 Detecting unit 53 Light source 54 Filter 55 Half mirror 56 Slit 57, 58 Lens 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 Reflecting mirror 64 Reflecting mirror

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H05K 3/00 H05K 3/00 QE H01L 21/30 502V

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A method for inspecting a conductive pattern, comprising: forming a conductive film on a substrate; applying a photoresist on the conductive film; exposing the photoresist; and developing the photoresist. A method for inspecting a conductor pattern, comprising: a step of inspecting a pattern of the photoresist. 2. The method for inspecting a conductive pattern according to claim 1, further comprising a step of feeding back the result of the inspection to the step of exposing the photoresist or to a step before that. Inspection method of conductor pattern. 3. The method for inspecting a conductor pattern according to claim 1, wherein the exposure of the photoresist is performed when a pattern defect of the photoresist is detected at the same position on two or more substrates. A method for inspecting a conductor pattern, comprising: determining that a photomask used in the process has a pattern defect. 4. One of claims 1 to 3
In the method for inspecting a conductor pattern according to the paragraph, when a pattern defect of the photoresist having the same or similar shape is detected for two or more substrates, a pattern is formed on a photomask used when exposing the photoresist. A method for inspecting a conductor pattern, comprising determining that there is a defect. 5. A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device having a substrate on which a conductive pattern is formed, wherein: a step of forming a conductive film on the substrate; a step of applying a photoresist on the conductive film; A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, comprising: a step of exposing; a step of developing the photoresist; and a step of inspecting a pattern of the photoresist. 6. The method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 5, further comprising a step of performing a step of exposing the photoresist to a result of the inspection or a step of feeding back the result of the inspection to an earlier step. Of manufacturing an electro-optical device. 7. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 5, wherein, when a pattern defect of the photoresist is detected at the same position on at least two substrates, the exposure of the photoresist is performed. A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, comprising: determining that a photomask used in performing the patterning has a pattern defect. 8. The method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 5, wherein a pattern defect of the photoresist having the same or similar shape is detected for two or more substrates. And determining that the photomask used for exposing the photoresist has a pattern defect.