JP2004069373A - Liquid crystal precision position controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal precise position controller which utilizes pattern recognition and is capable of performing fine working adjusting to the objective of a work, by attaching an electro-optical liquid crystal marker of high visibility to the work. <P>SOLUTION: In this liquid crystal precise position controller, an electro-optical liquid crystal display marker to be a luminous source is arranged in one dimension or two dimensions and a predetermined pattern is formed. Its position is detected by image-recognizing this pattern, and positioning is performed. A plate (liquid crystal display substrate) 27 of the luminous source is set on stages 19, 24, and the pattern of the substrate 27 is controlled. A place to be laser-worked is determined by marking (lighting) a designated position or its vicinity. The determined position is stored as image information by an image sensing device 17 via a condensing lens 18 on a memory in order. The pattern of the stored image data on the memory and a pattern taken in beforehand are collated, and instructions for driving are transmitted to each power supply driver 25, 22 to drive an X-stage motor 26 and a Y-stage motor 23 from a motion control unit 21, so that the patterns may match. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus that performs alignment by detecting a pattern formed by a light emitting source by image recognition. Such an apparatus according to the present invention includes the production of a display element by organic EL (electroluminescence), a laser drawing apparatus, a precision positioning laser exposure apparatus for resist exposure, a cell cutting laser micro cutter, DNA, and polymorphism of a gene by DNA and single base substitution. It can be used for the production of SNP chips (microarrays) using the characteristics.
[0002]
In addition, the device according to the present invention is a laser repair device for correcting a color filter of a display device or a wiring of a transparent electrode (for example, indium tin oxide (ITO)) pattern or a pattern of a printed circuit board, or a device on a silicon or glass plate. Energy-saving small-sized chip for freezing and storing living cells, nuclei, sperm, etc. in micro holes, fine processing device for photosensitive resist, laser drawing device, laser scanner device, minilab photo print device, laser tweezer device, cell and nucleus Equipment for moving and positioning microneedles to be pierced, laser processing equipment, laser marking equipment, nano-level detection equipment for the position of biological and chemical substances that emit fluorescence, etc., proteomics analyzer, μ-TAS (micro total analysis) Groove machining and position control equipment for assembling parts for μ chemical factory It can also be used for installation.
[0003]
[Prior art]
In the production of next-generation FPDs (flat panel displays) typified by PLEDs (polymer organic electroluminescence elements) and the like, a production apparatus that accurately spots a material in a space two-dimensionally formed by a resist, a production apparatus for each element, and the like. There is a need for an inspection device or the like that checks the light emission state and determines the quality of the light emission.
[0004]
In addition, when selecting a molecular recognition drug to block cell receptors from growth factors with reference to intracellular protein as a tailored medicine, it is necessary to consider the type of protein and its combination with the drug. For that purpose, a laser microcutter device for extracting proteins from the cells of an individual and a microarray manufacturing device for evaluating combinations are necessary, and a precise position control device is required to realize the inspection device. Is essential. At present, the tact time and precision of the fabrication process for arranging cell laser cuts and microspots at the submicron level are bottlenecks in the development of medical drugs. The tendency to rely on the mechatronic accuracy for alignment will increase in the future.
[0005]
By the way, usually, when controlling the stage below the micrometer, in order to directly grasp the movement amount of the stage and the current position, a length measuring device using a magnetic scale, an optical scale, laser interference, etc. is attached to the stage, and the length measuring device is used. Position control is almost impossible unless full-closed control for feeding back a signal from the controller to the motion control unit is employed. In addition, since it is necessary to directly detect the position of a sample cell or a specimen, a method of precisely moving and controlling the stage to a two-dimensional target absolute position is desired in the future.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, even if the stage is controlled precisely, for example, if an error occurs due to a difference from the thermal expansion of the work, it cannot be said that the fixed position of the work is constantly held even in the fully closed control. Therefore, the use of a material having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion, or the provision of a separate environmental sensor for performing temperature compensation, complicates or restricts the symptomatic treatment.
[0007]
In addition, individual differences between the workpieces naturally occur. Therefore, it is necessary to set the control position of the stage according to the individual difference of the work, and this is the biggest problem in terms of the yield by automation. It is not realistic that the same precision is required for the work itself.
[0008]
In addition, if a one-axis drive motor is used, two-axis XY motors are naturally required, and a plurality of length measuring devices (for example, XY #) are inevitably required. For this reason, errors are inevitably accumulated, so that the alignment accuracy becomes stricter and cost increases are inevitable. Therefore, ideally, it is ideal to adjust the desired position of the work while directly observing the work itself, and if the position information is given to the control system, the work itself can be precisely adjusted. It is. Accordingly, improvement in yield can be expected.
[0009]
When manufacturing a highly integrated product such as a semiconductor or a biochip, two-dimensionally capturing a work placed on a stage is the most cost-effective method. Therefore, recently, the machine vision system is being actively adopted. We have devised a method of irradiating the object with light, and have devised a way to confirm the target easily. However, a solution with high brightness, high contrast and high visibility has not been known so far. . In addition, a database for coding and managing patterns had to be newly considered.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that detects a pattern formed by a light emitting source by image recognition and performs positioning. That is, according to the present invention, such a marker with high visibility (a marker with high contrast that does not require any processing such as enhancement in image processing) is attached to the work, and fine processing can be performed according to the purpose of the work. The purpose is to use pattern image recognition for pattern matching, and to realize a more accurate full-closed control device that does not require a conventional expensive length measuring scale at all and a workpiece manufactured using it. It is assumed that.
[0011]
For example, in the case of biochips such as DNA and chemical micro-factory chips, the higher the integration density per unit area, as in semiconductor technology, the greater the number of chips that can be obtained from one chip. It is naturally required to be high. In addition, by performing the quality judgment after processing each substrate (for example, spotting) while automatically checking and inspecting by pattern recognition, the productivity is improved and the cost is reduced. By the way, the basics of conventional DNA arrays have been to spot a plurality of genes on a single chip for analysis. Recently, it has been considered necessary to have a technique that can perform gene analysis of a plurality of samples for a specific gene. Such a technique is thought to lead to the knowledge of genetic polymorphisms (SNPs) and the etiology of the disease in clinical practice.
[0012]
That is, it is conceivable that the current inspection process of the DNA chip changes, and it is necessary to shorten the diagnosis time by performing different hybridization for each of the spots. Positioning for performing the hybridization may be required. Conventionally, these systems have had to rely on the mechatronic accuracy of an XY stage or the like of an electric axis for diagnosis, but in reality, the accuracy of alignment according to each individual difference of a work diagnostic board is important. .
[0013]
Similarly, the technology required to accurately spot various reagents at predetermined positions is also required for experimental plates required for small chemical laboratories, etc., so that individual plates can be customized and highly reproducible. In order to improve the productivity, it is considered that a structure that does not rely on the stage of the mechatronic main body, and that accurately determines and processes the position of the work itself, is desirable. That is, the guide light is turned on on the substrate, and the processing probe is accurately landed at that position.
[0014]
For this purpose, it is most desirable to use a method that combines a technique for aligning the spot portion of the work with an arbitrary position (for example, the center) of the spotter and a technique for determining whether the spotted state is good or bad. This eliminates the need for maintenance and calibration of the mechatronic stage, reduces the accuracy requirements of the manufacturing apparatus itself, and significantly reduces manufacturing costs.
[0015]
For example, in order to control a mechatronic stage with sub-micron accuracy, conventionally, an encoder for reading an indicated value of an optical or magnetic scale and returning it to the mechatronic was required. It becomes unnecessary. In particular, the production substrate of a chemical factory using a μDNA chip or MEMS always requires movement of a two-dimensional (XY) stage, so two sets of mechatronics systems with a scale are required, which is very expensive. Had become.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, motion control based on pattern recognition used in machine vision or the like is most appropriate. Each work is captured by an image pickup device (CCD camera, infrared vidicon camera, etc.), and the stage is driven and the position is controlled while recognizing the position of the details. As a result, the precision of the substrate itself is improved and the yield is improved, so that the system cost and the running cost can be significantly reduced.
[0017]
However, in order to accurately adjust an arbitrary position using pattern recognition, it is necessary to display a pattern indicating the arbitrary position on a substrate live. Further, in order to improve the precision and the recognition speed, a sign (marking) having high visibility that does not require image processing such as enhancement (amplification) is required.
[0018]
In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, a means for forming a predetermined pattern by a light emitting source, a means for recognizing a formed pattern, and a method for setting a light emitting source based on a position recognized by the recognizing means. A precise position control device comprising a moving means for moving to a position. That is, according to the present invention, the electro-optical liquid crystal display markers serving as the light emitting source are one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally arranged to form a predetermined pattern, and the position is detected by recognizing the image to perform positioning. A liquid crystal precision position control device is provided.
[0019]
Here, the light-emitting source is, for example, a liquid crystal which is excited electrically, chemically, optically or magnetically to generate an electro-optical effect, a colloid particle used for electronic paper, or an electroluminescent element which emits fluorescence. An element that emits phosphorescence, an element that displays a light spot by a projector element such as a laser spot or an optical shutter array, or the like can be used.
[0020]
If such a light emitting source is used, the visibility is very high, so that precise alignment is possible. In addition, since the light is emitted by itself, it is possible to check in real time the state of the cells after laser cutting, the result of drawing by spotting, and other reagents without lighting.
[0021]
In the case of a DNA chip or the like, since the plate itself can emit light, it also serves as a light source for fluorescence or phosphorescence. In addition, since the light emitting portion can be arbitrarily designated, diagnosis workability can be remarkably improved by only recognizing the light emitting pattern at the designated location. It is also possible to use a color filter or the like for the wavelength of the excitation light of the fluorescent light applied to each spot. In addition, since the design is based on the pattern recognition itself, it is possible to customize each of chip production → hybridization → fluorescent pattern recognition, and realize an all-in-one device that can perform all processes with one device. Becomes possible.
[0022]
This liquid crystal substrate has a backlight light source on the bottom surface and is composed of a substrate such as a lower glass substrate, a liquid crystal layer, and an upper glass. Since DNA oligos and the like are spotted on the upper glass substrate, pretreatment such as surface treatment with a coupling agent or the like for adjusting a contact angle (wetting property) is performed, or chemical resistance is improved. A fluorine coating may be provided.
[0023]
Further, the glass substrate itself may have such chemical resistance, and may be made of a material that allows infrared light to pass well or a material that allows ultraviolet light to pass well. Conversely, the glass substrate itself may be provided with a laser-resistant coating in order to apply laser processing to the sample on the glass substrate. Further, the upper substrate may be directly processed by etching such as μ-grooves, or may be made of a photosensitive glass base material in which a matrix of depressions such as an array of pits has already been prepared. You may. In any case, a pair of electrodes for driving the liquid crystal is provided on the back side of the upper lower substrate.
[0024]
In addition, on the liquid crystal interface side of the upper substrate in this electrode portion, a patterning such as a chromium vapor deposition film or a chromium etching film or gold printing for the purpose of shading may be performed, and the surface of the substrate not in contact with the liquid crystal may be provided. May be coated with a metal film. Further, in order to drive the liquid crystal display substrate, the wiring does not have to be attached to the substrate. The lead pins are set on the stage side, and the structure may be such that a contact can be made when the stage is fixed to the ITO terminal or metal terminal of the liquid crystal display substrate, or the display driving IC light source driving IC etc. are mounted on the liquid crystal substrate itself Chip-on-glass (COG) type, or a substrate type provided with a card-type connector.
[0025]
In addition, since wireless technology will be used in the future, an IC with a receiving device can be provided on a glass substrate. Such a liquid crystal display panel may be made into a card or a stick, inserted into the device drive, the mechanical stage control starts, and the stick may be converted into a biochip or the like.
[0026]
Here, the liquid crystal has been described as an example, but in the future, electronically excited light emission, electroluminescence, electronically excited phosphorescence, laser diodes, organic / inorganic materials using light emitting diodes (LEDs), and electronically excited phosphorescent materials will be more visible. Even if a material having high properties is used, the object can be achieved by basically using the same method.
[0027]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a substrate provided with a recognition marker used in the device according to the invention. 1, (A) shows a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal panel, (B) shows the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel, (C) shows the liquid crystal interface side of the upper substrate of the liquid crystal panel, and (D) shows the liquid crystal panel. 3 shows the liquid crystal interface side of the lower substrate. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a microlaser cutter processing apparatus. In the following description, “pattern” refers to the shape of a mark displayed on the liquid crystal. In addition, the display pattern of the liquid crystal is collected by an image sensor to obtain an analog signal, and the analog signal is subjected to deduction processing to obtain image recognition data, and the image recognition data is stored as a matrix on an image memory. The minimum unit of the image memory stored in this way is called a pixel.
[0028]
The liquid crystal panel 10 is configured such that a liquid crystal 8 is sandwiched between an upper substrate 6 and a lower substrate 9. The upper substrate 6 has the light-shielding portion 2 formed by chromium evaporation or gold printing portion 7, and a square or round pattern as the light transmitting portion 1.
[0029]
A transparent conductive coating ITO (indium tin oxide) layer 3 is provided on the liquid crystal interface side of the upper substrate 6, and a transparent electrode is also formed on the liquid crystal interface side of the lower substrate 9 so as to form a matrix therewith. The layer 4 is formed, and an on / off operation at an arbitrary light transmitting portion is enabled. When the liquid crystal 8 sandwiched between the upper and lower substrates is driven by energization, the pattern is turned on by transmitting light from a backlight (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the substrate in FIG. Become.
[0030]
The same plate 27 as the substrate 10 of FIG. 1 is set on the stages 19 and 24 of the apparatus of FIG. A control signal is transmitted from the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16 to the device control unit 13 to control the pattern of the liquid crystal display substrate 27 to mark (turn on) the vicinity of the laser spot. The lighting position may be a method of inputting the pixel coordinates of the image memory corresponding to the center of the pattern, may store the order of scanning (sequential lighting) and timing, or may use a tablet, a key touch panel, a mouse 11 or the like. May be provided with a drawing mechanism for lighting the position designated by the pointer while viewing the plate 27 and the CRT (CRT) 12. Further precise control based on the pattern will be described later in the description of the flowchart of FIG.
[0031]
The image capturing board 20 converts the lit position into image information by the image sensor 17 via the condenser lens 18, converts the brightness intensity into a voltage for each pixel, and outputs it as a continuous analog voltage signal. A continuous analog voltage signal is divided by a time axis by a / D (analog / digital) converter, converted into a digital signal, and sequentially stored on a memory. The pattern of the stored image data on the memory is compared with a previously fetched pattern, and the motion control unit 21 drives the X stage motor 26 and the Y stage motor 23 so that the patterns match. The instruction is transmitted to the power supply driver drives 25 and 22. After confirming by the camera 17 that the pattern is set at the center of the field of view, an instruction is transmitted to the laser irradiation device 15 via the control unit 14 to be pointed.
[0032]
The specific recognition of the pattern is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the liquid crystal pattern and the image pixels. That is, an area (group of vertical and horizontal pixels) 32 composed of a plurality of pixels 31 is determined, and a liquid crystal pattern 30 (shown by a hatched portion in FIG. 4) formed in the area 32 is selected. The size of the recognition pixel is preferably about 40 × 40 pixels to 200 × 200 pixels.
[0033]
The image information of the area 32 is stored in the image memory. Each pixel 31 is assigned a numerical value of 256 tones. Selecting and determining the area 32 refers to loading the memory with the three-dimensional data of the vertical, horizontal, and gradation of each pixel. An area that matches the same data as the entire image in 640 × 480 pixels is searched for at a certain recognition rate, and the center of gravity, midpoint, center coordinates and the like of the area are determined.
[0034]
Then, the distance to the coordinates 33 of the center and the target position of the 640 × 480 pixel matrix, for example, the center coordinates (340, 240) are calculated. The distance is converted into the physical length on the stage from the distance per pixel which has been calibrated in advance, and the distance is transmitted to the motion control unit (21 in FIG. 2), and the pulse for operating the motor is transmitted to the motion control unit. 21 to the driver 22. Thereby, the stage moves so that the pattern comes to the target position.
[0035]
Next, the movement of the liquid crystal pattern in the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The stage is roughly moved from the origin 40 to a position where the liquid crystal pattern as a marker is captured as an image by the camera. When the liquid crystal pattern 41 is detected as the recognition area 42 in the camera's visual field (image memory 640 × 480 pixels) 43, its exact position is referred to a table stored in the CPU which is stored in advance, and is adopted and used at the same time. The relative position on 43 is calculated. After calculating the relative movement amount required for movement from the coordinates of the target 44 and the current position of the liquid crystal pattern 41 as the number of image pixels, it is converted into a pulse from a distance in the motion controller, and transmitted to the motor driver to transmit the pattern and the target. Until the positions match, position control is performed while confirming the image.
[0036]
If there is a miscount of the pulse transmitted from the motion control unit 21 to the driver and the target position is not reached, the relative distance between the target and the pattern is monitored again live, and the pattern recognition is performed until the target is finally settled. Motor fine movement is repeated. When the positioning is completed, laser processing is performed in FIG.
[0037]
By the way, the imaging device 17 shown in FIG. 2 may change the sensitivity wavelength as long as the visibility increases. For example, an infrared vidicon camera or the like may be used, or an intensifier (light multiplier) may be attached to the CCD. The stage may be controlled by a thermal imaging camera. Alternatively, mechanical control may be performed using a high-speed shutter camera or a high-speed camera such as a high-speed camera. For example, if a vidicon camera is used, the spotting state can be more clearly confirmed. Therefore, if the wavelength filter is automatically replaced, the position control and the inspection can be performed simultaneously. Since near-infrared light can be turned on and off by liquid crystal, a near-infrared LED light source may be used for the backlight. In some cases, an arbitrary pattern or position can be lit even if an organic or inorganic material using electroluminescence (EL) is used without using a liquid crystal. Of course, a position control method using a light emitting matrix that emits fluorescent excitation light may be used.
[0038]
In addition, a method of irradiating and projecting light onto a work on a stage, such as a projector, using a reflection mirror array to recognize a spot pattern can also be used. At present, one of the most promising devices capable of miniaturizing a light emission pattern is a liquid crystal display panel, which can make a pattern (segment) of 5 μm square. In the future, if the light emitting display element is miniaturized, it can be used.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
In terms of control accuracy, in the case of the conventional method, the length measurement result of each encoder scale corresponds to the number of motor movement pulses. The value of the length measurement result read from the data may fluctuate, and in some places, hunting may be large and the control position may not be determined. Therefore, even if the mechanism is stopped, it is inevitable that the precision of the repetitive control is significantly deteriorated.
[0040]
However, according to the present invention, one pixel of the image sensor corresponds to the side length scale. Even if the distance between the patterns to be recognized varies, it is not reflected on the length measurement error. Since the error between each pixel of a recent CCD is a few percent of a comma, if one pixel of a field of view stored in an image memory is 1 micron, the error is several nanometers. Therefore, hunting can be reduced as much as possible.
[0041]
Further, once a certain optical magnification is set, and once the relation between the distance precisely measured by laser heterodyne or the like and the image pickup device is calculated, the calibration is completed. Accordingly, the relative positional relationship (depending on the shape of the pattern, for example, the position of the center of gravity, etc.) within the area for recognizing the pattern becomes a noise (hunting) limit, and the variation in the distance between the patterns is a cause of hunting and accuracy deterioration. Thus, calibration between patterns is not required.
[0042]
From an application point of view, for example, if an example in which a cell contour is cut by a laser is given, precise positioning of a laser irradiation sample stage can be very easily performed. Further, regarding the fluorescence recognition after the production of the DNA chip or the hybridization or the hybridization, the fluorescence at an arbitrary position can be excited, so that the fluorescence recognition of the DNA chip can be performed at the same time. Since a series of operations can be performed in the same apparatus as described above, the operation efficiency is high, and the apparatus cost and the introduction cost can be remarkably reduced.
[0043]
From the above, by using the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to position a very precise stage or the like without installing a rotary encoder or a linear encoder, which has conventionally been one of the causes of high cost, on the stage. It becomes.
[0044]
In addition, with the conventional extension technology using pattern recognition, the purpose of positioning cannot be achieved unless the pattern to be recognized is stored in advance, so that the pattern is inevitably complicated in order to increase the matching accuracy. However, according to the apparatus of the present invention, since the mechatronic control is performed by designating the absolute position using only a single pattern, it is possible to realize absolute full closed control that has never been achieved before.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a substrate in an apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the entire apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between a liquid crystal pattern and image pixels.
5 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the liquid crystal pattern shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Light transmission part 2 ... Shield part 3 ... Lead wire 4 ... Each segment 6 ... Upper substrate 8 ... Liquid crystal 9 ... Lower substrate

Claims (3)

An electro-optical liquid crystal display marker serving as a light emitting source is one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally arranged to form a predetermined pattern, and the image is recognized to detect a position and perform positioning. . 2. The liquid crystal precision position control device according to claim 1, further comprising means for turning on the power source, sequentially turning on the light emitting sources, and detecting the current lighting position by detecting the lighting number by image recognition. The shape of an element constituting a one- or two-dimensional pattern is an arbitrary shape, and the position is detected by image recognition, and sequentially moved to a predetermined position, thereby performing a required process on a substrate. Item 2. A liquid crystal precision position control device according to item 1.

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