JP2003215809A - Aligner and method for exposure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an aligner which can expose a substrate substantially without any unevenness while using a plurality of light emitting elements as a light source. <P>SOLUTION: The aligner which exposes a surface to be exposed by scanning the surface to be exposed with lights from the plurality of light emitting elements is equipped with a light emission quantity adjusting means which adjusts the quantities of light emission of the light emitting elements, one by one, by controlling electric power supplied to the light emitting elements by a plurality of light emitting element groups of ≥2 light emitting elements and a light emission quantity detecting means which detects the respective light emission quantities of the respective light emitting elements. The light emission quantity adjusting means of the exposure device specifies a light emission defective elements whose light emission quantity deviates from a specified range among the light emitting elements according to the detection result of the light emission quantity detecting means and adjusts electric power supplied to the light emitting element group that the light emission defective element belongs to so the surface to be exposed is exposed substantially uniformly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

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 for performing exposure using a plurality of light emitting elements.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an exposure apparatus, in order to prevent uneven exposure,
It is required to irradiate a substrate, which is an exposure target, with uniform light. In order to meet such demands, the conventional exposure apparatus uses a single ultra-high pressure mercury lamp as a light source, and uses a reflection mirror or collimator to direct the light emitted from the mercury lamp into a large parallel area. It was converted into light, and the substrate was irradiated on it.

[0003]

However, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp generally has a short service life, so that it has to be replaced frequently. Since this replacement work includes the work for adjusting the light quantity of the newly installed ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, it took time and effort. For this reason, frequent replacement of the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp has been a cause of lowering the throughput of the exposure apparatus. Further, the ultra-high pressure mercury lamp has a problem that it consumes a large amount of power and is not economical.

In order to solve the above problems, it is conceivable to use, as a light source of an exposure apparatus, a plurality of small-sized light emitting elements which are more durable and consume less power, instead of an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp. However, when a plurality of light emitting elements are used for the light source, for example, the performance of one light emitting element deteriorates with time, and as a result, the light emitted to the substrate has a non-uniform intensity distribution. There is a problem that uneven exposure occurs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus capable of exposing a substrate substantially evenly while using a plurality of light emitting elements as a light source.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an exposure apparatus which exposes an exposure target surface by scanning light from a plurality of light emitting elements on the exposure target surface. Provided is an exposure apparatus including a light emission amount adjusting means for adjusting the light emission amount of a light emitting element for each light emitting element group including two or more light emitting elements, and a light emission amount detecting means for detecting the light emission amount of each light emitting element. In this exposure apparatus, the light emission amount adjusting means specifies a light emission defective element having a light emission amount deviating from a predetermined range from among the light emitting elements based on the detection result of the light emission amount detecting means, and the light emission defective element belongs to the element. The light emission amount of the light emitting element group is adjusted. Thus, even if there is a defective light emitting element, the surface to be exposed can be exposed substantially uniformly.

According to one aspect of the invention, the light emitting element is connected to a different power supply line for each light emitting element group. Then, the light emission amount adjusting means adjusts the light emission amount of the light emitting element for each light emitting element group by adjusting the power supplied to each power supply line. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to obtain an advantage that wiring for supplying electric power to the plurality of light emitting elements is simplified.

According to one aspect of the present invention, each of the light emitting element groups is arranged in a direction intersecting with a scanning direction for scanning light from the light emitting elements so that an area of a predetermined width on the surface to be exposed can be exposed without gaps. A light emitting element array in which the above light emitting elements are arranged, and a plurality of the light emitting element arrays are arranged so that the entire surface to be exposed can be exposed without gaps. In such an aspect, it is preferable that the light emitting amount adjusting means adjusts the light emitting amount of the light emitting elements so that the average light emitting amount of the light emitting elements belonging to the same light emitting element row becomes a predetermined value.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the light emission amount adjusting means estimates the maximum exposure amount and the minimum exposure amount received by the surface to be exposed when the light emission amount of the light emitting element is adjusted. Then, when at least one of the estimated maximum exposure amount and the minimum exposure amount deviates from the predetermined exposure amount range, the light emission amount adjusting means does not adjust the light emission amount of the light emitting element. Alternatively, the exposure apparatus of the present invention further comprises a warning output unit that outputs a warning that the amount of light emitted from the light emitting element cannot be adjusted appropriately, and at least one of the estimated maximum exposure amount and the minimum exposure amount is preset. The light emission amount adjustment means may output a warning to the warning output means when the exposure amount deviates from the predetermined exposure amount range.

In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to use a light emitting diode as a light emitting element from the viewpoints of durability and low power consumption.

The present invention also provides an exposure method for exposing the surface to be exposed by scanning the light from the plurality of light emitting elements on the surface to be exposed. In this exposure method, the light emission amount of the light emitting element can be adjusted for each light emitting element group each including two or more light emitting elements, the light emission amount of each light emitting element is detected, and the light emitting element is detected based on the detection result. From among the above, identify the defective light-emitting element whose amount of light emission deviates from the predetermined range,
The light emission amount of the light emitting element group to which the defective light emitting element belongs is adjusted so that the surface to be exposed is exposed substantially uniformly.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following explanation,
The plane parallel to the exposed surface of the photosensitive substrate to be exposed is xy
Two directions that are orthogonal to each other in the xy plane are called a plane and an x direction and ay direction, respectively.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus 100 is
The photosensitive substrate 10 is placed on the exposure table 102, and x, y2
And a substrate stage control unit 1 for controlling the operation of the substrate stage 104.
06, and a mask stage 108 for holding the photomask 20 in parallel with the exposed surface of the photosensitive substrate 10.
In the present embodiment, the mask stage 108 holds the photomask 20 so that there is a gap of several microns to several tens of microns between the photosensitive substrate 10 and the photomask 20. Alternatively, the mask stage 108 holds the photomask 20 so that the photomask 20 is in close contact with the exposed surface of the photosensitive substrate 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, the pattern drawn on the photomask 20 is exposed on the photosensitive substrate 10 at a scale ratio of about 1: 1.

The exposure apparatus 100 further includes a photosensitive substrate 1.
A light source 110 that emits light toward 0, and a predetermined scanning direction of the light source 110 (in the case of the present embodiment, the x direction)
Light source scanning mechanism 112 that is driven back and forth, and light source scanning mechanism 1
By controlling the operation of 12, the light source 110 is moved in the x direction, and the scanning control unit 114 for scanning the light from the light source 110 on the exposed surface of the photosensitive substrate 10 is provided.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the light source 110 seen obliquely from the substrate stage 104 side. The light source 110 has a plurality of light source units U1 to Un arranged in the scanning direction (x direction) of the light source 110. Each light source unit U1 to Un
Have substantially the same configuration and are integrally held by the housing 110a. In FIG. 2, the light source 11
Although 0 has shown the example provided with a plurality of light source units, the light source 1
10 may be provided with only one light source unit. Therefore, for simplicity of explanation, the light source 11 will be described below.
The description will be made assuming that 0 includes only the light source unit U1.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the light source unit U1, which is perpendicular to the exposed surface of the photosensitive substrate 10 and y.
It shows a part of the cross section of the light source unit U1 along a plane parallel to the direction. A printed circuit board 120 is arranged in the light source unit U1, and a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) 122 are attached to the printed circuit board 120. The LED 122 is an example of a light emitting element that emits light for exposure toward the surface to be exposed.

In the present embodiment, LE is used as the light emitting element.
The D122 is used because the LED is superior in durability and power saving as compared with a high pressure mercury lamp generally used as a light source of an exposure apparatus. In the present embodiment, an LED that emits light in the ultraviolet region is particularly adopted, and it is possible to expose the photosensitive substrate 10 coated with a photoresist that reacts to ultraviolet rays.

A lens panel 124 is provided on the substrate stage 104 side of the LED 122. The lens panel 124 is made of glass or light-transmissive resin,
A collimator lens 126 is formed at a position where the light emitted from each LED 122 passes. The light emitted from each LED 122 is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 126, and then is irradiated onto the photosensitive substrate 10 or the photomask 20.

FIG. 4 shows an LED in the light source unit U1.
It is a figure for demonstrating the arrangement | sequence of. In FIG. 4, a black dot p represents the position of the LED 122, and a circular portion q indicated by a broken line is a beam spot formed by the light emitted from each LED 122 via the collimator lens 126 on the photosensitive substrate 10 or the photomask 20. Is represented.

In the light source unit U1, a plurality of LEDs 12
2 are arranged so as to form a two-dimensional array of m rows and n columns. Here, the row of the LEDs 122 means the y direction (light source 1
10 is the arrangement of the LEDs 122 in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction). Further, the row of the LEDs 122 refers to the arrangement of the LEDs 122 in the direction indicated by the alternate long and short dash line f in the figure.

In each row of LEDs 122, LEDs 122 are arranged at equal intervals a. Further, the rows of the LEDs 122 are arranged so as to be offset from each other by a constant distance c in the y direction. This is to prevent the beam spots q respectively formed by the two LEDs 122 in one light source unit from completely overlapping in the scanning direction when the light source unit is scanned in the x direction. Since the rows of the LEDs 122 are arranged so as to be offset from each other in the y direction in this manner, the column direction of the LEDs 122 is a direction intersecting the x direction in which the light source 110 is scanned.

Now, assuming that the diameter of the beam spot is d,
The LEDs 122 are arranged so that the following equation is satisfied: (d × n) ≧ a (1) (c × n) = a (2) Equations (1) and (2) are satisfied. Then, when the light source unit is scanned in the x-direction, the LEDs 122 belonging to the rows that are one behind the other as shown by the shaded portions r and s in FIG.
The areas on the photosensitive substrate 10 through which the beam spots of 1 pass through partially overlap. For this reason, the light source unit is x
When the light source unit is scanned in the direction, the light source unit irradiates the entire surface of the photosensitive substrate 10 with light, and the light is not radiated, so that an unexposed region does not remain.

Returning to FIG. 1, the exposure apparatus 100 further includes a light receiving section 130 for detecting the amount of light emitted from the light source 110. In the case of the present embodiment, the light receiving unit 130
Is provided at an end of the exposure table 102 in the scanning direction of the light source 110. The light receiving unit 130 is
The amount of light emitted from the light source 110 can be detected when the light source 110 is moved to a position facing the light receiving unit 130 by the light source scanning mechanism 112.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the structure of the light receiving section 130. The light receiving unit 130 is a light receiving element 1 such as a photodiode.
A plurality of 32 are provided. These light receiving elements 132 are preferably arranged such that their light receiving surfaces are located substantially in the same plane as the exposure surface of the photosensitive substrate 10. In the case of the present embodiment, the light receiving unit 130 has the same number of light receiving elements 132 as the LEDs 122 included in the light source unit U1, and the light receiving elements 132 are arranged in the same manner as the arrangement of the LEDs 122 described in FIG. . Therefore, the light source unit U
When 1 is positioned at a position facing the light receiving unit 130,
Each of the light receiving elements 132 receives the light emitted from the different LED 122. As a result, in the present embodiment, it is possible to detect the light emission amounts of all the LEDs 122 included in the light source unit U1 at once using the light receiving unit 130.

Returning to FIG. 1, the exposure apparatus 100 further includes a light emission amount adjustment unit 140 for adjusting the light emission amount of each LED 122 based on the light emission amount of each LED 122 detected by the light receiving unit 130. The light emission amount adjustment unit 140 has a plurality of power supply lines 142, as schematically shown in FIG. Each power supply line 142 is connected in series to a different LED 122 column, for example. The light emission amount adjustment unit 140
The power supplied to each power supply line 142 is adjusted based on the detection result of the light receiving unit 130, so that the light emission amount of the LED 122 is set to L so that the substrate 10 is exposed with a predetermined light amount.
Adjust for each ED column. Thus, in this embodiment,
Since the light amount is not adjusted for each LED but the light amount is adjusted for each LED column, the power supply line 142
The number of light sources is small, and the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 and the light source 11
The electrical wiring between 0 and 0 is relatively simple.

Returning to FIG. 1, the exposure apparatus 100 further includes a warning output unit 160 and a main control unit 162. The warning output unit 160 uses the LED 12 so that the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 can appropriately expose the substrate 10 as described later.
This is a device for notifying that when the light emission amount of 2 cannot be adjusted. The warning output unit 160 includes, for example, a sound device that outputs a warning sound, a display device that displays warning information, or a communication device that outputs warning information to another device via a wire or wirelessly. The main control unit 162 is a CPU or the like that integrally controls the operations of the light emission amount adjustment unit 140, the scanning control unit 114, the substrate stage control unit 106, and the like so that a smooth exposure process is performed.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation when the exposure apparatus 100 exposes the substrate 10. When exposing the substrate 10, in the exposure apparatus 100, the substrate stage control unit 106 first adjusts the position of the substrate stage 104 to align the substrate 10 and the photomask 20 (S102).

Next, the scanning controller 114 causes the light source scanning mechanism 1 to operate.
The light source 110 is moved to the initial position by operating 12 (S104). Here, the initial position is the light source 110.
Is not located above the substrate 10, and the light emitted from the light source 110 is not directly emitted to the substrate 10.

When the light source 110 is arranged at the initial position, the light emission amount adjusting section 140 then supplies a current to each power supply line 142 to turn on each LED 122 (S10).
6). In the case of the present embodiment, the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 stores in advance the value of the current to be supplied for each power supply line 142 (hereinafter referred to as the current set value). In S106, each power supply line 14 is connected to each power supply line 142.
For 2, the current of the current setting value stored in the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 is supplied.

When the LED 122 is turned on, the light source scanning mechanism 112 then causes the light source 110 to scan in the x direction at a constant speed (S108). As a result, the light source 110 passes over the substrate 10 from one end to the other end in the x direction while irradiating the substrate 10 with light, and exposes the substrate 10. The scanning of the light source 110 is stopped when the light source 110 completely passes over the substrate 10 and the light source 110 moves to a position where the light emitted from the light source 110 does not directly expose the substrate 10. Next, the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 causes each power supply line 142 to
The current supply to the LED 122 is stopped, and thereby the LED 122 is turned off (S110). With the above, the exposure process in the exposure apparatus 100 is completed.

FIGS. 8A to 8C show LE as described above.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a y-direction distribution (integrated light amount distribution) of integrated light amounts irradiated on a plane including an exposed surface of the substrate 10 when the light source 110 is scanned while the D122 is turned on. Figure 8
In (a) to (c), the vertical axis L represents the light amount and the horizontal axis Y represents the position in the y direction. Y = 0 corresponds to the center of the substrate 10, and W / 2 and −W / 2 correspond to the y-direction end of the substrate 10, respectively.

In FIG. 8A, a curve 204 shows the total light amount distribution of the light emitted from the light source 110, and each of the plurality of curves 202 shows the integration of the light that each LED 122 individually illuminates the exposure surface. The light intensity distribution is shown. As described in FIG. 4, the LEDs 122 are arranged such that the beam spots formed on the substrate 10 by the light emitted from the LEDs 122 partially overlap with each other. For this reason, the integrated light amount distribution 202 of a single LED is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), they partially overlap each other.

The integrated light quantity distribution 204 is determined by the single LED 12
It is equal to the sum of the cumulative light amount distribution 202 of 2. Now each LED
If the intensity distributions 202 of 122 can all be approximated by the same Gaussian distribution, and if the y-direction interval of the integrated light amount distribution 202 of each single LED is sufficiently small, the integrated light amount distribution 20
As shown in FIG. 8 (a), 4 has a curve whose center portion is substantially flat. When the integrated light amount distribution 204 has such a shape, the exposure apparatus 100 can uniformly expose the substrate 10.

However, even one of the LEDs 122, for example, four LEDs 122a-12a belonging to the column f ₁ in FIG.
The amount of light emitted from the LED 122b of 2d is equal to that of the other LED 12
When the value is significantly lower than 2, the integrated light amount distribution of the entire light emitted from the light source 110 has a shape in which a part is depressed as illustrated by a curve 206 in FIG. 8B. In this case, the exposure apparatus 100 can no longer uniformly expose the substrate 10, which is a disadvantage.

In order to eliminate such an inconvenience, the exposure apparatus 100 has the defective LED 122 such that the integrated light amount distribution is as flat as possible when there is an LED 122 having a defective light emission amount such as the LED 122b. The amount of current supplied to the connected power supply line 142 (the power supply line 142a in the example of FIG. 6) is changed, and the integrated light amount distribution has a predetermined light amount range L as illustrated by a curve 208 in FIG. 8C. adjusting the amount of light emitted LED122 a row of the _min ~L _{m ax} its power supply line 142 to fit the supplied power.

Adjustment of current value supplied to power supply line 142
Is a current value to be supplied to the power supply line 142.
The current setting value previously stored in the light quantity adjusting unit 140 is I
_{se t}Then, the current setting value I_setK × I
_setIt is done by replacing with. Where k is
It is a correction coefficient obtained by an equation. In the formula (3), n is an LE that belongs to one LED row.
The number of D122 (the number of rows of LEDs arranged two-dimensionally)
It Also, D_iIs the LE for which the light emission amount is adjusted
Light emission amount L of the i-th LED 122 belonging to the column D_i, And
And predetermined as the target value of the light emission amount of each LED 122.
Value L_setRatio of (D_i= L_i/ L _set)
It

The correction coefficient k obtained by the equation (3) is
LEs belonging to a row of LEDs whose light emission amount is adjusted
In order to make the average light emission amount of D122 match the target value L _set , the ratio of the light emission amount of the LEDs 122 should be increased or decreased. In the case of the present embodiment, as the light emitting element of the light source 110, the LED 122 whose supply current and light emission amount are in a substantially proportional relationship is used.
Represents the ratio at which the current to be supplied to the power supply line 142 should be increased or decreased in order to match the average light emission amount of the LED 122 with the target value L _set . Therefore, in this embodiment,
As described above, by multiplying the current supplied to the power supply line 142 by k, L connected to the power supply line 142 is increased.
The average light emission amount of the ED 122 can be multiplied by k.

FIG. 8C shows the power supply line 142a of FIG.
The current supplied to the substrate 10 is corrected by the correction coefficient k, and then the substrate 10
7 shows an integrated light amount distribution 208 of the amount of light emitted from the light source 110 to the exposed surface of the substrate 10 when exposed to light. As can be seen in FIG. 8C, the LE is corrected using the correction coefficient k.
Integrated light amount distribution 20 when the light emission amount of D122 is adjusted
No. 8 has a shape in which the ideal integrated light amount distribution 204 has a substantially uniform unevenness in the vertical direction, and the ratio of the unevenness is
Integrated light amount distribution 206 before light emission amount adjustment shown in FIG.
Smaller than. Therefore, using the correction coefficient k, LE
When the light emission amount of D122 is adjusted, the substrate 10 can be exposed more uniformly than before the light emission amount is adjusted.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the exposure apparatus 100 when adjusting the light emission amount of the LED 122. When adjusting the light emission amount of the LEDs 122, first, the light emission amount of each LED 122 is measured (S20).
2). That is, first, the light source scanning mechanism 112 sets each L
The light source 110 reaches the position where the light emitted from the ED 122 is emitted to different light receiving elements 132 of the light receiving section 130.
To move. Next, the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 supplies a current corresponding to each current setting value to each power supply line 142, thereby turning on each LED 122. on the other hand,
The light receiving unit 130 measures the amount of light emitted from each LED 122 and outputs the result to the light emission amount adjusting unit 140.

When the light emission amount is measured in S202, the light emission amount adjusting unit 140 then identifies the LED 122 that has a poor light emission based on the measurement result of the light receiving unit 130 (S204). Here, the LED 122 that emits light poorly means
The LED 122 in which the light amount measured by the light receiving unit 130 deviates from the predetermined light amount range.

In step S204, each LED 122 emits light in a predetermined light amount range, and the light emission amount is low.
If the ED 122 does not exist, the exposure apparatus 100
The substrate 10 can be exposed substantially uniformly. Therefore, in this case, the exposure apparatus 100 ends the processing without adjusting the light emission amount of the LED 122 (S206: n).
o).

On the other hand, when there is an LED 122 with a poor light emission amount, the light emission amount adjusting section 140 then determines the LED array to which such an LED 122 belongs (hereinafter referred to as a correction target LED array). The correction coefficient k is calculated (S206: yes, S208).

Next, the light emission amount adjusting section 140 adjusts the light emission amount of the LED 122 based on the correction coefficient k obtained in S208, and then exposes the substrate 10 to light emitted from the light source 110 to the substrate 10. The total integrated light amount distribution is estimated by calculation (S210). In this calculation, the correction target LE
It is assumed that each LED 122 that does not belong to the D row emits light with the light emission amount measured in S202, and that each LED 122 that belongs to the correction target LED column emits k times the light emission amount measured in S202. Further, assuming that the intensity distribution in the beam emitted from each LED 122 can be approximated by, for example, a Gaussian distribution, the y-direction integrated light amount distribution of the light amount that each LED 122 individually illuminates the exposure surface is obtained. Then, by adding the obtained y-direction integrated light amount distributions of the respective LEDs 122, the integrated light amount distribution of the entire light amount irradiated from the light source 110 to the substrate 10 at the time of exposure is obtained.

Next, the light emission amount adjusting section 140 adjusts the light emission amount of the LED 122 by the correction coefficient k obtained in S208 based on the integrated light amount distribution obtained in S210.
It is determined whether 0 can be exposed substantially uniformly (S2
12). For this determination, for example, it is inspected whether the maximum value and the minimum value in the integrated light amount distribution obtained in S210 are within a predetermined light amount range (for example, the range of L _{min to} L _max in FIG. 8C). It is done by If the maximum value or the minimum value of the calculated integrated light amount distribution is not within the predetermined light amount range, the substrate 10 cannot be uniformly exposed even if the light emitting amount of the LED 122 is adjusted. The unit 140 causes the warning output unit to output a warning that the amount of light emission cannot be adjusted appropriately (S212: no,
(S214), and thereafter, the process of this flowchart ends.

On the other hand, when the maximum value and the minimum value of the integrated light amount distribution obtained in S210 are within the predetermined light amount range (S212: yes), the light emission amount adjusting section 140 causes the correction target LED row to emit light. The amount is adjusted using the correction coefficient k (S216). Specifically, the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 replaces the value of the current setting value I _set preset as the current to be supplied to the correction target LED array with k × I _set . This allows the light source 1 to be subsequently exposed to expose the substrate 10.
When 10 is turned on, each LED 122 belonging to the correction target LED row emits light with an adjusted light amount, and the exposure apparatus 100 has a substantially uniform exposure amount.
The exposed surface of can be exposed.

[0046]

According to the present invention, since the light emitting amount adjusting means adjusts the light emitting amount of a plurality of light emitting elements for each light emitting element group, the electrical connection configuration between the light emitting amount adjusting means and the light emitting elements is simplified. It can be anything. In addition, the light emission amount adjusting means identifies a light emission defective element whose light emission amount deviates from the predetermined range from among the light emitting elements and adjusts the power supply to the light emitting element group to which the light emission defective element belongs. Even if an element occurs, the surface to be exposed can be exposed substantially uniformly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light source.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a light source unit U1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an arrangement of LEDs in a light source unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a light receiving unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an electrical connection relationship between a light emission amount adjustment unit and LEDs.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when the exposure apparatus exposes a substrate.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a y-direction distribution (integrated light amount distribution) of the amount of light emitted from a light source to a plane including an exposed surface of a substrate by exposure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the exposure apparatus when adjusting the light emission amount of the LED.

[Explanation of symbols] 100 exposure equipment 110 light source 112 Light source scanning mechanism 114 scanning control unit 122 LED 130 Light receiving part 132 Light receiving element 140 Light emission amount adjustment unit 142 power supply line 160 Warning output section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] January 28, 2002 (2002.1.2
8)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0036

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

To adjust the current value supplied to the power supply line 142, the current setting value stored in advance in the light emission amount adjustment unit 140 as the current value to be supplied to the power supply line 142 is I
If you _{se t,} the current setting value _{I set} k × _I
This is done by replacing with _set . Here, k is a correction coefficient obtained by the following equation.

[Equation 1]    In the formula (3), n is an LE that belongs to one LED row.
The number of D122 (the number of rows of LEDs arranged two-dimensionally)
It Also, D_iIs the LE for which the light emission amount is adjusted
Light emission amount L of the i-th LED 122 belonging to the column D_i, And
And predetermined as the target value of the light emission amount of each LED 122.
Value L_setRatio of (D_i= L_i/ L _set)
It

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshinori Kobayashi             2-36 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahikou             Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H097 CA12 GA45 GA50 LA09 LA10                 5F041 AA05 BB06 DC07 DC23 EE11                       FF16                 5F046 BA05 CA03 DA02 DB01

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An exposure apparatus for exposing the surface to be exposed by scanning light from a plurality of light emitting elements on the surface to be exposed, wherein the light emission is performed for each light emitting element group including two or more light emitting elements. The light emitting amount adjusting means for adjusting the light emitting amount of the element, and the light emitting amount detecting means for detecting the light emitting amount of each of the light emitting element, the light emitting amount adjusting means, based on the detection result of the light emitting amount detecting means A light emitting defective element whose light emission amount deviates from a predetermined range is identified from the light emitting elements, and the light emitting defective element belongs to the light emitting defective element so that the surface to be exposed is exposed substantially uniformly. An exposure apparatus, wherein the amount of light emitted from an element group is adjusted. 2. The light emitting element is connected to a different power supply line for each light emitting element group, and the light emission amount adjusting means adjusts the power supplied to each power supply line to thereby cause the light emission. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emission amount of the light emitting element is adjusted for each element group. 3. Each of the light emitting element groups has two or more in a direction intersecting with a scanning direction for scanning light from the light emitting elements so that an area having a predetermined width on the exposure target surface can be exposed without a gap. It is a light emitting element row in which the light emitting elements are arranged, and a plurality of the light emitting element rows are arranged so that the entire surface to be exposed can be exposed without gaps. . 4. The light emitting amount adjusting means adjusts the light emitting amount of the light emitting elements so that the average light emitting amount of the light emitting elements belonging to the same light emitting element row becomes a predetermined value. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3. 5. The light emission amount adjusting means estimates the maximum exposure amount and the minimum exposure amount received by the exposure target surface when the light emission amount of the light emitting element is adjusted, and the estimated maximum exposure amount and the estimated maximum exposure amount are received. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emission amount of the light emitting element is not adjusted when at least one of the minimum exposure amounts deviates from a predetermined exposure amount range. 6. The apparatus further comprises warning output means for outputting a warning indicating that the light emission amount of the light emitting element cannot be adjusted appropriately, and the light emission amount adjusting means, when the light emission amount of the light emitting element is adjusted, The maximum exposure amount and the minimum exposure amount received by the exposure target surface are estimated, and the warning is issued when at least one of the estimated maximum exposure amount and the minimum exposure amount deviates from a predetermined exposure amount range. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the warning. 7. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is a light emitting diode. 8. An exposure method for exposing the surface to be exposed by scanning light from a plurality of light emitting elements on the surface to be exposed, wherein the light emission is performed for each light emitting element group including two or more light emitting elements. The light emission amount of the element is adjustable, the light emission amount of each of the light emitting elements is detected, and the light emission amount of the light emitting element deviates from a predetermined range based on the detection result. An exposure method characterized in that a defective element is specified and the light emission amount of the light emitting element group to which the defective light emitting element belongs is adjusted so that the surface to be exposed is exposed substantially uniformly.