JP2002169298A - Exposure device and exposure method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure method in a plate making process and an exposure device used for the method that the loss of a stripe metal sheet can be decreased and that the quality of plate making and productivity can be improved. SOLUTION: The exposure device for plate making is equipped with a light- shielding structure 150 to shield a photomask from light which is disposed between the photomask 120 and a light source 130 and in the front and rear position of the product exposure region 121 of the photomask 120 along the longitudinal direction of the substrate while leaving a space of specified width from the product exposure region. The photomask used for exposure has a margin 122 which prevents separation of the substrate 110 by etching and has a black solid part 125 for light shielding formed each in the front and rear region of the product exposure region along the longitudinal direction of the substrate and formed in this order from the product exposure region. The light shielding structure is used to shield the black solid part of the photomask from light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus and an exposure method, and more particularly to an exposure apparatus and an exposure method. In addition, the present invention relates to an exposure method in a plate making process for forming an etching resistant resist image on one side according to a pattern of a product, and a plate making exposure apparatus used therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mass production of a shadow mask for a color TV (cathode tube) has been progressing with an increase in the amount of use, and finer and larger sizes have been demanded depending on the purpose of use. Such a shadow mask is generally produced on a line in which a strip-shaped metal plate material is used as a material and an etching process is performed by a photo-etching method. Briefly, while moving the strip-shaped metal plate continuously or intermittently, usually, the plate making process is performed on both sides,
Forming an etching-resistant resist image, using this as an etching mask, performing an etching step of etching the strip-shaped metal plate material, so that the outer peripheral portion of the product portion of each shadow mask is held by the strip-shaped metal plate material, and In a state where a shadow mask is imposed on a strip-shaped metal plate,
The outer shape had been processed. After that, a trimming process for separating each shadow mask is performed to obtain a shadow mask as a target product.

[0003] As mass production continues, the demand for lowering the production cost of the shadow mask, which is a product, has recently become even more intense. Improvements are required in terms of quality, quality and cost. In the shadow mask production line, as an exposure method in the plate making process, a band-shaped metal plate material on which a photosensitive resist film is formed is intermittently moved in a substantially stretched state. A photomask formed of a corresponding large-sized glass dry plate is brought into close contact with the resist films on both surfaces of the metal plate material, and exposed to form a latent image for developing and forming an etching-resistant resist image. The exposure method was adopted. In addition, it is required that the interval between products is as narrow as possible.In the case of exposure, conventionally, since the adjacent product part is not exposed, a light shielding tape for not exposing the adjacent product part is manually placed on a photomask. I was pasting it. However, since the light-shielding tape was manually applied, the position accuracy was poor, and in order to prevent the trouble of cutting the strip-shaped metal plate material in the etching process, in order to ensure safety, the distance between the product exposure area and the light-shielding tape was adjusted. Needed to be large. That is, it is necessary to increase the product interval, which results in loss of the band-shaped metal plate material. On the other hand, the light-shielding tape is irradiated with exposure energy to heat the photomask, which causes expansion and contraction and distortion of the photomask, thereby deteriorating plate making quality.

[0004]

As described above, in a line such as a shadow mask manufacturing line in which a strip-shaped metal plate material is used as a material and an etching process is performed by a photo-etching method, a strip-shaped metal plate material is exposed by a strip-shaped metal plate. There is a problem of loss of plate material and a problem in plate making quality, and therefore, this measure has been demanded. The present invention corresponds to this, using a strip-shaped metal plate material as a material, in a line for performing an etching process by a photo-etching method,
An exposure method in a plate making process, which aims to provide an exposure method capable of reducing loss of a strip-shaped metal plate material, and improving plate making quality, and further improving productivity, and an exposure apparatus used therein. is there.

[0005]

An exposure apparatus according to the present invention provides a product in which a strip-shaped continuous base material is etched by a photo-etching method to obtain a product. A plate-making exposure apparatus used in a plate-making process for forming an etching-resistant resist image in accordance with a pattern of a substrate, wherein a product exposure is performed in a longitudinal direction of a base material and before and after a product exposure region of a photomask, respectively. A light-shielding structure is provided between the photomask and the light source so as to have a predetermined width from the region and to shield the photomask from light. In the above description, the photomask used for exposure includes a blank portion for preventing the base material from being separated by etching, and a light-shielding part, in front of and behind the product exposure region, in the longitudinal direction of the base material, respectively, in order from the product exposure region side. And the light-blocking structure is for shielding the black solid portion of the photomask from light. Further, in the above, light from the light source is reflected by the light shielding structure,
In order not to be incident on the product exposure area side, the light shielding structure is provided with a shape for preventing reflection, or
The light shielding structure is made of a material that prevents reflection. Further, in the above, the light-shielding structure for shielding light is movable in accordance with the longitudinal direction of the base material continuous in a strip shape, and the product interval to be manufactured, and the product interval to be manufactured is input in advance. By doing so, the light shielding structure is automatically moved. In the above, the product is a shadow mask.

Incidentally, the solid black portion is the same as the material of the black pattern of the photomask to be formed.
It is formed simultaneously with the pattern of the photomask. As the photomask, usually, a glass dry plate provided with a silver salt photosensitive material is used as a material, and a pattern is formed by selectively exposing the silver salt photosensitive material to light (this is also referred to as patterning). in this case,
The solid black portion is a black portion after development of the silver halide photosensitive material. In recent years, the original photomask for shadow masks has been formed by patterning by selectively exposing and developing with a drawing exposure machine, and the position accuracy of the solid black part is the same as that of the pattern. It is determined by the accuracy of the drawing exposure machine. A photomask is used as a photomask, or a photomask that has been subjected to close exposure and development based on the original to form a pattern, or subjected to a pattern synthesizing process or the like.

According to the exposure method of the present invention, the belt-shaped metal plate having a photosensitive resist film formed on its surface is intermittently moved while being stretched substantially, and the belt-shaped metal plate is stopped when stopped. A photomask having a size larger than the band width of the metal plate material is brought into close contact with the resist film on the surface, exposed to light, and developed to form an etching-resistant resist image serving as an etching-resistant mask. In the exposure method of forming an image, as a photomask used for exposure, in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, before and after the product exposure region, respectively, in order from the product exposure region side, a blank portion for the substrate is not separated by etching, And a light-blocking structure for blocking the black solid portion is provided between the photomask and the light source to perform exposure. In the above, the product is a shadow mask. When the product is a shadow mask, the photosensitive resist film is formed on both sides of the band-shaped metal plate, and a photomask is adhered to each of the resist films on both sides of the band-shaped metal plate to expose the resist film. ,
An etching-resistant resist image is developed and formed on both surfaces of the metal plate material.

[0008]

According to the exposure apparatus of the present invention having such a structure, a strip-shaped metal plate material can be used as an exposure method in a plate-making process in a line where a strip-shaped metal plate material is used as a material and an etching process is performed by a photo-etching method. This makes it possible to provide an exposure apparatus capable of implementing an exposure method that can reduce the loss of printing and can improve plate making quality and productivity. Specifically, a photolithography method is used to etch a strip-shaped continuous base material to obtain a product. In a product manufacturing process, an etching-resistant resist is formed on both sides or one side of the base material according to the pattern of the product. An exposure apparatus for plate making used in a plate making process for forming an image, wherein a predetermined width is opened from a product exposure area in a longitudinal direction of a base material and before and after a product exposure area of a photo mask, respectively, to shield a photo mask. By arranging a light-shielding structure between the photomask and the light source, more specifically, the photomask used for exposure has a product exposure area around the longitudinal direction of the base material. Each is provided with a blank portion for preventing the base material from being separated by etching and a black solid portion for light shielding in order from the product exposure region side. By those for shielding black solid portion, we have achieved this. That is, without using a conventional light-shielding tape, a black solid portion is provided on a photomask to be used, and further, a light-shielding structure for shielding the black solid portion is provided. It is said that heat absorption can be reduced, expansion and contraction and distortion of the photomask can be reduced, and as a result, quality accuracy can be improved. When the original photomask is selectively exposed by a drawing exposure machine, developed, and patterned to form a solid black portion, the position accuracy of the drawing exposure machine is the same as that of a pattern. Is determined by At the same time, damage to the resist due to heat can be prevented. In addition, compared to the conventional method of manually attaching a light-shielding tape to a photomask, a solid black portion can be provided during the production of a photomask, and the positional accuracy of the black solid portion can be made more accurately than that of a conventional light-shielding tape. It is also possible to maintain the product intervals to be produced with a predetermined accuracy, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the loss of the base material.

Further, the light shielding structure is provided with a shape for preventing reflection, or the light shielding structure is provided so that light from the light source is reflected by the light shielding structure and does not enter the product exposure area. By using a material that prevents reflection, the incidence of unnecessary light on the product portion of the photomask can be suppressed, and the product portion can be uniformly exposed regardless of the product width. As a result, an improvement in product quality can be expected. As the light shielding structure, specifically, a honeycomb structure,
Examples include a fin structure and a black surface painted on the end surface. In addition, the light-shielding structure for shielding light can be moved according to the longitudinal direction of the base material continuous in a band shape and the product interval to be manufactured, so that it can correspond to items (of different sizes) of products. By preliminarily inputting the product interval to be manufactured, the light shielding structure is automatically moved, so that the product item switching time can be reduced, the switching loss can be reduced, and an improvement in productivity can be expected.

[0010] In particular, this is effective when the product is a shadow mask, but the product is not limited to this.
It can also be applied to lead frame fabrication.

The exposure method according to the present invention, having such a configuration, uses a strip-shaped metal plate material as a material, and performs a strip-shaped metal plate material in an exposure method in a plate making process in a line where etching is performed by a photoetching method. This makes it possible to provide an exposure method that can reduce the loss of printing and can expect improvement in plate making quality.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a main part of an example of an embodiment of an exposure apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a view for explaining a photomask to be used, and FIG. 2 is a shielding structure. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an anti-reflection mechanism of the shielding structure. 1A is a view showing a state at the time of exposure, FIG. 1B is a view of the photomask as viewed from the film surface side, and FIG. 2 is a view as viewed from the A1-A2 side of FIG. FIGS. 3A and 3B are enlarged views of the portion A0 in FIG. 1A. 1 to 4, 110 is a metal plate material,
115 is a photosensitive resist, 120 is a photomask, 12
1 is a product exposure area (also referred to as a product area), 122 is a blank portion (light transmitting portion b), 125 is a solid black, 130 is a light source,
35 is exposure light, 135a is incident light, 135b is reflected light,
150 is a shielding structure, 151 is a ball screw, 152 is a support, 155 is a honeycomb, 156 is a fin, M is a motor, and PLC is a programmable controller.

An embodiment of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The description of the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment and the description of the exposure operation will be replaced with the description of the exposure method of the present invention. In the exposure apparatus of this example, a metal plate material that is a strip-shaped continuous base material is etched by a photoetching method to obtain a shadow mask that is a product. In a shadow mask manufacturing process, a pattern of a product is printed on both surfaces of the metal plate material. In a plate-making exposure apparatus used in a plate-making process for forming an etching-resistant resist image, a photosensitive resist 1 is formed on both surfaces as shown in FIG.
When the belt-shaped metal plate material 110 on which the film 15 is formed is intermittently moved in a substantially stretched state, when stopping, the resist films 115 on both surfaces of the band-shaped metal plate material 110 are respectively attached to the resist films 115. An exposure apparatus for forming a latent image in order to develop and form an etching-resistant resist image serving as an etching-resistant mask by exposing and exposing a photomask 120 having a size larger than the band width in the band width direction. . And
On each side of the metal plate 110, a metal plate 110
Product exposure area 121 of the photomask 120
Before and after, a light-shielding structure 150 for opening a predetermined width from the product exposure region 121 and shielding the photomask 120 from light is disposed between the photomask 120 and the light source 130. Each of the light shielding structures 150 is driven by a motor M controlled by a programmable controller PLC, and its position is controlled. Although not shown, the photomask 120 is supported, and the photomask 120 is supported.
Is provided on the resist film 115 so as to be in close contact with the resist film 115.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the photomask 120 used for the exposure is located on the side of the product exposure area 121 before and after the product exposure area 121 in the longitudinal direction of the metal plate 110. In order from the margin portion 12 so that the metal plate material 110 is not divided by etching.
2, and a black solid portion 125 for light shielding is provided. The light shielding structure 150 is provided with a black solid portion 12 of the photomask.
5 is for shielding light. As described above, a photomask is usually made of a glass dry plate provided with a silver halide photosensitive material and selectively exposed to the silver halide photosensitive material to form a pattern (this is also called patterning). Things are used. In this case, the solid black portion is a black portion after development of the silver salt photosensitive material. From the loss surface of the metal plate 110, it is preferable that the width W0 between the product exposure area 121 and the solid black 125 is smaller. However, when the conventional light shielding tape is used, the cut of the metal plate may be reduced from the necessary amount in view of occurrence of trouble. It was necessary to take more than 4 mm. Note that the original mask of the photomask for the shadow mask is formed by patterning by selectively exposing and developing with a drawing exposure machine, and the position accuracy of the solid black portion of the photomask 120 is also reduced by the pattern. It is determined by the accuracy of the drawing exposure machine in the same manner as described above.

As the light source 130 for exposure, a Xe lamp, a metal halide lamp, or the like is used as a light source, and is used as a substantially parallel light by a mirror. In this example, the support portion 152 is formed with a screw so as to fit with the ball screw, and the light shielding structure 150 supported by the support portion 152 moves its position by the rotation of the ball screw 151 driven by the motor M. I do. The motor M is controlled by the programmable controller PLC. After all, the light shielding structure 150 is controlled by the programmable controller PLC and its position is controlled. The method of controlling and moving the light shielding structure 150 is not limited to the example.

As an anti-reflection mechanism for preventing light reflected from the light shielding structure 150 from being incident on the photomask 120, a honeycomb structure (FIG. 3A) or a fin structure (FIG. b)), or the end face of which is coated with black. Accordingly, it is possible to substantially prevent the reflected light 135b from the light shielding structure 150 from being incident on the photomask 120.

The operation of the exposure apparatus of this embodiment will be briefly described below with reference to FIG. First, from the state shown in FIG. 1A, the light source is closed by a shutter (not shown), and then two photomasks 120 are formed on a metal plate material having a photosensitive resist film 115 disposed on both surfaces thereof. Separate from 110. (Step 1) The two photomasks 120 are moved by a vacuum contact device (not shown). Next, a metal plate material 110 having a photosensitive resist film disposed on both sides thereof is passed between two photomasks 120 in a substantially stretched state, and is passed through the metal plate material 11.
After being conveyed by a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of 0, it stops.
(Step 2) Next, when the photomask 120 is not to be replaced, the two photomasks 120 are brought into close contact with the resist film of the metal plate material 110 on which photosensitive resist films 115 are provided on both surfaces. Exposure is performed in the state shown in FIG.
(Step 3) In this case, the position adjustment of the light shielding structure 150 is not performed.
When exchanging the photomask 120, two photomasks 120 are newly set in a vacuum contact device (not shown), and the metal plate material 110 in which a photosensitive resist film 115 is provided on both surfaces is further provided. On the resist film,
And brought into the state shown in FIG. 1A again,
The position adjustment of the light shielding structure 150 is performed. (Step 4) Since the region of the solid black portion 125 differs depending on the size of the product exposure region 121 of the photomask 120, the light shielding structure 15
Zero position adjustment is performed. In order to make the W0 width (FIG. 1B) a predetermined width regardless of the product, the transport distance in step 2 is controlled according to the product. The position adjustment of the light shielding structure 150 in step 4 is performed in accordance with the transport distance in step 2. In the apparatus of the present example, the transfer distance in step 2 is used as an input value to the programmable controller PLC, whereby the PLC can instruct the light-shielding structure 150 to move to an appropriate position. After step 1 to step 3 or step 4, the process proceeds to step 1 again, and the exposure process can be performed repeatedly. This makes it possible to form a latent image for developing and forming an etching-resistant resist image on both surfaces of the metal plate material that is continuous in a band at a predetermined product interval.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the loss of the band-shaped metal plate material can be reduced by the exposure method in the plate making process in the line where the etching process is performed by the photo-etching method using the band-shaped metal plate material. In addition, it is possible to provide an exposure method that can be expected to improve plate making quality and further improve productivity, and to provide an exposure apparatus used therein.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a main part of an example of an embodiment of an exposure apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a view for explaining a photomask to be used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a shielding state by a shielding structure.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an anti-reflection mechanism of the shielding structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 110 metal plate material 115 photosensitive resist 120 photomask 121 product exposure region (also referred to as product region) 122 blank portion (light transmitting portion b) 125 solid black 130 light source 135 exposure light 135a incident light 135b reflected light 150 shielding structure 151 ball screw 152 Support section 155 Honeycomb 156 Fin M Motor PLC Programmable controller

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An etching-resistant resist according to a product pattern on both sides or one side of a base material in a product manufacturing process in which a strip-shaped continuous base material is etched by a photo-etching method to obtain a product. An exposure apparatus for plate making used in a plate making process for forming an image, wherein a predetermined width is opened from a product exposure area in a longitudinal direction of a base material and before and after a product exposure area of a photo mask, respectively, to shield a photo mask. An exposure apparatus, wherein a light-shielding structure is provided between the photomask and the light source. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the photomask used for exposure is provided so that the substrate is not separated by etching in the order of the product exposure region before and after the product exposure region in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. An exposure apparatus comprising a blank portion and a solid black portion for light shielding, wherein the light shielding structure is for shielding the solid black portion of the photomask from light. 3. The light-shielding structure according to claim 1, wherein the light-shielding structure is provided with a shape for preventing reflection so that light from the light source is reflected by the light-shielding structure and does not enter the product exposure area. Alternatively, the light-shielding structure is made of a material that prevents reflection. 4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light-shielding structure for shielding light is movable in accordance with the longitudinal direction of the base material continuous in a strip shape and the interval between products to be manufactured. 5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the light-shielding structure is automatically moved by inputting a product interval to be manufactured in advance. 6. An exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the product is a shadow mask. 7. A belt-shaped metal plate material on which a photosensitive resist film is formed is intermittently moved in a substantially stretched state. Exposure to form a latent image in order to develop and form an etching-resistant resist image to be an etching-resistant mask by exposing and exposing a photomask having a size larger than the band width in the band width direction of the metal plate material. In the method, as a photomask used for exposure, in the longitudinal direction of the base material, before and after the product exposure region, respectively, in order from the product exposure region side, a blank portion for not separating the base material by etching, and black for light shielding. Using a solid portion provided, a light shielding structure for shielding the black solid portion is disposed between the photomask and the light source,
An exposure method comprising performing exposure. 8. The exposure method according to claim 7, wherein the product is a shadow mask.