JP2006163037A - Method for carrying large pellicle, carrying tool, and pellicle case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an appropriate and simple method for carrying a large pellicle, including a conventional large pellicle, and to provide a carrying tool for the method, and a pellicle case housing a large pellicle. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for carrying a large pellicle, having a pellicle film disposed on the upper face of a pellicle frame and a tacky adhesive face formed on the lower face of the pellicle frame to adhere to a photomask, the pellicle is carried, while the lower face of the pellicle frame is partially adhered temporarily to the surface of a carrying tool for the large pellicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is mainly attached to the surface of a large photomask (hereinafter also simply referred to as “mask”) used as an exposure master plate in the manufacturing process of a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display to prevent dust on the pattern surface. The present invention relates to a transport method, a transport jig, and a pellicle case for a large-sized pellicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “pellicle”).

A pellicle is usually a metal pellicle frame (hereinafter also simply referred to as “frame”) with a transparent polymer thin film pasted on it, and adheres to the mask with an adhesive on the bottom of the frame. The space near the pattern to be imaged at the time of exposure is surrounded by a pellicle film and a frame, and has a function of blocking external dust.
FIG. 7 shows the structure of a conventional large pellicle, FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a pellicle case for housing the conventional large pellicle, and FIG. 9 shows a state where the conventional large pellicle is mounted on a mask.

  FIG. 7A is a side view of a conventional large pellicle 70, and FIG. 7B is a bottom view. In a conventional large pellicle 70, a pellicle film 72 is bonded to the upper surface of a frame 71, and an adhesive 73 for attaching a mask is formed on the lower surface of the frame. Is provided. FIG. 8 shows a state where a conventional large pellicle 70 is housed in a conventional large pellicle case 80, and the pellicle case 80 is formed of a tray 81 and an upper lid 82.

  Large pellicles were manufactured by a pellicle manufacturer, and a protective film was applied to the adhesive surface for mask adhesion, and they were shipped to the mask manufacturer in a case. At mask manufacturers, humans held, transported, and inspected pellicles directly with hands wearing clean gloves or using a dedicated handling jig. Further, after the pellicle inspection, the protective film is peeled off, the pellicle is set on the pellicle mounting apparatus, the mask is set on the pellicle mounting apparatus, and both are pressure-bonded. As shown in FIG. It was adhered to. After the pellicle is mounted, dust is inspected. If nonstandard dust is found in the pellicle, the pellicle is peeled off, the mask is washed again, a new pellicle is prepared, and the pellicle is mounted again. It was. If the garbage was within the standard, it was shipped as an acceptable product to LCD manufacturers.

  In recent years, with an increase in display size, a photomask serving as an original plate has also increased in size to a level exceeding 1 m on one side, and a pellicle has also increased in size (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Due to the increase in size, it is very difficult to manufacture the photomask by transporting the photomask and pellicle without adhering dust.

  In a conventional large pellicle, the pellicle is handled by using the side surface of the frame without an adhesive or a pellicle film. In order to facilitate conveyance, a small groove or dent is formed on the side surface of the pellicle frame, and handling is performed by attaching a dedicated jig to the groove or the like. However, while the entire pellicle is huge, the frame height is as small as about 7 mm, and it is difficult to mount the jig itself. Further, since the pellicle mounting apparatus is used to hold the pellicle side face and accurately determine the position, the area of the side face that can be used for delivery is limited, making it difficult to use a jig. For the above reasons, the use and automation of jigs have not progressed in large pellicle mounting work, and humans have mainly handled them directly by hand.

  However, because of the size of the large pellicle, it is difficult to install it with zero dust, especially when people directly transport it, because humans are one of the big sources of dust, so it is easy for dust to enter the pellicle, A failure occurred during the inspection after installation. In the case of failure, the pellicle had to be peeled off and the mounting operation had to be performed again.

In addition, since a large pellicle has a large frame and is heavy, it has to be strongly adhered to the mask in order to prevent a drop accident during exposure use. Therefore, it was very difficult to peel off when mounting failed. Usually, the pellicle is peeled off by immersing it in a solvent to dissolve the adhesive, or peeling the frame with a strong force using a lever or the like, but the peeled pellicle can no longer be reused. Further, in some cases, the expensive mask itself may be damaged by the peeling operation. Also, the pellicle itself was expensive, and the loss due to mounting failure was large.
JP 2001-109135 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple transport method suitable for transporting large pellicles, including conventional large pellicles, and for that purpose. A pellicle case for storing a transfer jig and a large pellicle is provided.

  The invention of claim 1 is a method for transporting a large pellicle, wherein a pellicle film is provided on an upper surface of the pellicle frame, and an adhesive surface for bonding to a photomask is formed on the lower surface of the pellicle frame. It is characterized in that a part of the lower surface of the pellicle frame is temporarily adhered to the surface of the transfer jig of the large pellicle and transferred.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method for transporting a large pellicle according to the first aspect, a projecting surface is provided on a part of the transporting jig, and the adhesive surface of the lower surface of the pellicle frame is adhered to the projecting surface. It is characterized by being conveyed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for transporting a large pellicle according to the first aspect, a projecting surface is provided on a part of the transporting jig facing an adhesive surface non-formation region on the lower surface of the pellicle frame, and the projecting An adhesive layer is formed on the surface, and the lower surface of the pellicle frame is adhered to the adhesive layer and conveyed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport jig for mounting and transporting a large pellicle in which a pellicle film is provided on an upper surface of the pellicle frame and an adhesive surface for bonding to a photomask is formed on the lower surface of the pellicle frame. A plurality of protruding surfaces are provided on a part of the surface of the transfer jig on the side where the large pellicle is placed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the conveying jig according to the fourth aspect, an adhesive layer is provided on the protruding surface.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle case having a tray for storing a large pellicle and an upper lid, each of the conveyance jigs having a fixing portion for the large pellicle conveyance jig and to which the large pellicle is attached It is fixed and stored.

  According to the method for transporting a large pellicle of the present invention, it is possible to easily perform a large pellicle mounting operation that has been difficult in the past, and it is easy to handle with the apparatus, so that an effect of automation is obtained. . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the defects of expensive large pellicles. Further, by using the conveying method of the present invention, it is not necessary to attach a protective sheet to the adhesive surface of the pellicle frame. This eliminates the need for the conventional work of peeling off the protective sheet when the pellicle is mounted, thereby preventing accidents such as dust adhering to the work and damage to the pellicle film.

  According to the jig for transporting a large pellicle of the present invention, when the pellicle is transported, a mechanism for clamping the pellicle on the side of the transport jig becomes unnecessary, and the pellicle is lightly pressed to be fixed to the jig and peeled off lightly. Thus, it can be easily removed from the jig. Further, since the side surface of the frame is not used, the pellicle can be directly delivered to a device having a mechanism for holding the other side surface, for example, a pellicle mounting device.

  According to the pellicle case of the present invention, the pellicle manufacturer fixes the pellicle to the transfer jig of the present invention, and after performing the pellicle inspection using the transfer jig, the pellicle case is stored together with the transfer jig. By supplying to the mask manufacturer, the mask manufacturer can inspect and mount the pellicle while using the transfer jig without changing the pellicle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  As a large pellicle, a large pellicle having a size of 783 mm in length, 1136 mm in width, a width of 10 mm, a height of 7 mm, and a weight of 700 g was used for mounting on a photomask used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display.

(Pellicle transfer jig)
The carrying jig of the present invention for carrying the pellicle was made of aluminum. FIG. 1 is a top view showing an example of a conveying jig 10 according to the present invention, which is in the form of a rectangular frame with a space provided inside. Since a large pellicle is usually rectangular, the conveying jig is also rectangular. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of protruding surfaces 12 are provided on the outer peripheral side of the long side of the jig 10 in contact with the lower surface of the pellicle frame at the position 11 where the pellicle is provided. The shape of the protruded surface 12 is preferably rectangular, and the number of the protruded surfaces 12 is provided in at least two places in order to hold the pellicle in parallel with the jig 10. The size of the protruding surface 12 can be arbitrarily set according to the number of installations, the frame width, the state of the adhesive surface of the pellicle, and the like. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the protruding surfaces 12 are provided at six locations on the two long sides of the jig 10.
In addition, although the present Example demonstrates the example which provided the protruded surface 12 in the outer peripheral part side of the long side of the jig | tool 10, the protruded surface 12 may be provided in the inner peripheral part side of the long side. .

  The height of the protruding surface 12 from the long side surface of the jig 10 may be a height within a range where the adhesive surface can be kept from coming into contact with the jig 10 except for the protruding surface 12, and is preferably about several mm. . Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable to provide the frame alignment claw 13 on the outer peripheral edge of the long side of the jig 10 with aluminum. Further, the two short sides of the jig 10 are handles 14 for handling the jig, and the handle 14 is provided with mounting holes 15 for mounting to a device such as a foreign substance inspection device.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the pellicle 20 is attached to the transfer jig 10 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (a) is a top view. FIGS. 2B and 2C are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. 1, and illustrate two cases where the adhesive surfaces provided on the lower surface of the pellicle 20 are different.

<Example 1>
In FIG. 2B, the adhesive surface 22 provided on the lower surface of the frame 21 of the pellicle 20 is formed on the entire lower surface over the entire circumference of the frame, and adheres to the jig 10 using the outer peripheral area of the adhesive surface 22. It is sectional drawing which shows the state made to do. The jig 10 is a surface 12 in which only a portion in contact with the outer peripheral side of the adhesive surface 22 on the lower surface of the pellicle frame 21 protrudes.
In the present example, one size of the protruding surface 12 was 5 mm × 70 mm, the height was 5 mm, and it was made of aluminum and fixed to the jig 10. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a frame alignment claw 13 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the long side of the jig 10 with aluminum.

<Example 2>
FIG. 2C shows a surface 12 protruding from the surface of the jig 10 facing the adhesive surface non-formation region, in which an adhesive surface non-adhesive region to which the adhesive is not applied is provided outside the lower surface of the frame 21 of the pellicle 20. Is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an adhesive layer 24 is formed on the protruding surface 12 and the adhesive layer 24 and an adhesive-uncoated region of the pellicle 20 are adhered to each other. The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 24 is formed by a method such as applying a hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesive or applying a double-sided tape made of a foamed polyethylene base material.
In the present example, one size of the protruding surface 12 was 5 mm × 70 mm and the height was 4 mm, which was made of aluminum and fixed to the jig 10. Next, a hot-melt adhesive was applied on the protruding surface 12, and an adhesive layer 24 was formed to a thickness of 2 mm. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a frame alignment claw 13 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the long side of the jig 10 with aluminum.

As shown in the first embodiment, the pellicle can be easily transported by adhering to the pellicle transport jig using a part of the adhesive surface for adhering to the mask on the lower surface of the frame.
Further, as shown in Example 2, the pellicle was easily transported by sticking the pellicle with an adhesive layer on the jig side to a non-adhesive surface forming region such as the outer periphery of the lower surface of the frame of the large pellicle.
When the transport method of the present invention is used, when the pellicle is transported, a mechanism for clamping the pellicle on the side of the transport jig is unnecessary, and the pellicle is lightly pressed to be fixed to the jig and lightly peeled to the jig. It can be easily removed from. Further, since the side surface of the frame is not used, it can be directly transferred to a device having a mechanism for holding the other side surface, for example, a pellicle mounting device.

(Pellicle case)
Next, an example of a pellicle case for storing the large pellicle of the present invention will be described. As the large pellicle, the large pellicle 20 was used, and the transfer jig 10 was used.

  FIG. 5 shows a pellicle case 50 according to the first embodiment of the present invention that accommodates the transfer jig 10 together with the large pellicle 20 fixed to the transfer jig 10. FIG. 5A shows a top view and FIG. 5B shows a side view. With the large pellicle 20 fixed to the transfer jig 10, the pellicle case 50 is left on the tray 51 of the pellicle case 50 and covered with an upper lid 52, and then the tray 51, the transfer jig 10, and the upper lid 52 are attached with clips 53 from the outside. The conveying jig 10 is fixed by being pinched.

FIG. 6 shows a pellicle case 60 according to the second embodiment of the present invention that accommodates the transfer jig 10 together with the large pellicle 20 fixed to the transfer jig 10. 6A shows a top view and FIG. 6B shows a side view. In a state where the large pellicle 20 is fixed to the conveyance jig 10, it is placed on the tray 61 of the pellicle case 60, and the conveyance jig 10 is attached to the nut 63 or the like using the mounting hole 15 of the conveyance jig 10. It is fixed to the tray 61 with the stoppers and then the upper lid 62 is provided. The tray 61 and the upper lid 62 are held by being fixed with clips or the like.
As described above, the pellicle case for storing the pellicle of the present invention is one in which the pellicle is fixed to the transport jig and the pellicle is stored together with the jig.

(Pellicle transport work method)
After the pellicle was manufactured by the pellicle manufacturer, the pellicle 20 was fixed to the pellicle carrying jig 10 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which a human is transported in a state where the large pellicle 20 is adhered and fixed to the transport jig 10 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the transport jig 10 was transported with two left and right handles 14. Further, an attachment hole 15 is provided in the handle 14 portion for attachment to an apparatus such as a foreign matter inspection apparatus.

The pellicle 20 that passed the inspection was housed in the pellicle case 50 shown in FIG. 5 together with the transfer jig 10 and shipped to the mask manufacturer. In the mask manufacturer, the pellicle case 50 is opened, the pellicle 20 is taken out together with the transfer jig 10, and fixed to the holder of the pellicle foreign substance inspection machine using the mounting hole 15 of the transfer jig 10, and the foreign substance inspection of the pellicle film is performed. Went. After passing the pellicle foreign matter inspection, the transfer jig 10 is removed from the inspection machine, and the transfer jig 10 to which the pellicle 20 is fixed is transferred, and the pellicle mounting device 40 is used as shown in FIG. a)) After the pellicle 20 was clamped by the pellicle mounting apparatus 40 (FIG. 4B), the pellicle 20 was removed from the transfer jig 10 (FIG. 4C), and then the pellicle was mounted on the photomask. (Not shown).
In the pellicle of the present invention, the pellicle can be directly transferred from the transfer jig.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the mask maker, including the conventional large pellicle, is inspected by the pellicle maker using the transfer jig, and then stored in the pellicle case and supplied to the mask maker. Then, it is possible to inspect and mount the pellicle using the transfer jig without changing the pellicle. Moreover, it is not necessary to attach a protective sheet to the adhesive surface by using the method of the present invention. This eliminates the need for conventional work of peeling off the protective sheet when the pellicle is mounted, thereby preventing accidents such as dust adhering to the work and damage to the pellicle film.

It is a top view which shows an example of the jig | tool for conveyance of this invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a state where a pellicle is attached to the conveyance jig of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIGS. 2B and 2C are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. 1 and show different embodiments. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the person is conveying in the state which adhered and fixed the large pellicles to the jig | tool for conveyance of this invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory views of a state in which the pellicle of the present invention is delivered from the transfer jig to the pellicle mounting apparatus, FIG. 4A is a state before delivery, FIG. (C) shows a state where the delivery of the pellicle is completed. It is the pellicle case of the 1st form of this invention which accommodates the jig | tool with the pellicle being fixed to the jig | tool for conveyance of this invention. FIG. 5A shows a top view and FIG. 5B shows a side view. It is a pellicle case of the 2nd form of this invention which accommodates the jig | tool with the pellicle being fixed to the conveyance jig | tool of this invention. 6A shows a top view and FIG. 6B shows a side view. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional large pellicle, FIG. 7A is a side view, and FIG. 7B is a bottom view. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which accommodated the conventional large pellicle in the conventional large pellicle case. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which adhere | attached the conventional pellicle on the mask surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pellicle conveyance jig 11 Position where pellicle is provided 12 Projected surface 13 Claw 14 Handle 15 Mounting hole 20 Pellicle 21 Pellicle frame 22, 23 Adhesive surface 24 Adhesive layer 40 Pellicle mounting device 50, 60 Pellicle case 51, 61 Tray 52 62 Upper lid 53 Clip 63 Nut 70 Large pellicle 71 Frame 72 Pellicle membrane 73 Adhesive 74 Adhesive protective film 80 Pellicle case 81 Tray 82 Upper lid 90 Mask

Claims (6)

In a method for transporting a large pellicle, in which a pellicle film is provided on the upper surface of the pellicle frame and an adhesive surface for bonding to a photomask is formed on the lower surface of the pellicle frame.
A method for transporting a large pellicle, wherein a part of the lower surface of the pellicle frame is temporarily adhered to the surface of a transport jig for the large pellicle and transported.   2. The method for transporting a large pellicle according to claim 1, wherein a projecting surface is provided on a part of the transporting jig, and an adhesive surface on a lower surface of the pellicle frame is adhered to the projecting surface and transported.   A protruding surface is provided on a part of the transfer jig facing the non-adhesive surface area of the lower surface of the pellicle frame, an adhesive layer is formed on the protruding surface, and the lower surface of the pellicle frame is adhered to the adhesive layer. 2. The method for conveying a large pellicle according to claim 1, wherein In a transport jig for mounting and transporting a large pellicle formed by providing a pellicle film on the upper surface of the pellicle frame and forming an adhesive surface for bonding to a photomask on the lower surface of the pellicle frame,
A jig for carrying a large pellicle, wherein a plurality of protruding surfaces are provided on the surface of the carrying jig on the side where the large pellicle is placed.   5. The jig for transporting a large pellicle according to claim 4, wherein an adhesive layer is provided on the protruding surface. In a pellicle case having a tray and a top lid for storing a large pellicle,
A pellicle case having a fixing part for a transfer jig for the large pellicle, wherein the transfer jig to which the large pellicle is attached is fixed and stored.

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