JP2006261163A - Aligner and electrooptical apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an aligner capable of preventing deformation of a liquid crystal mask due to an increase in temperature of the liquid crystal mask in exposure processing, and to provide an electrooptical apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The aligner 70 uses the liquid crystal mask to transfer a predetermined pattern to a substrate 1 to be exposed. The apparatus 70 is provided with a light source 5 for emitting an exposure light, and cooling means 90 for cooling the liquid crystal mask 8 irradiated with the exposure light from the light source 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus and an electro-optical device.

  Conventionally, when a predetermined pattern is formed on a substrate to be exposed, a method of transferring a pattern onto the substrate to be exposed by an exposure apparatus using a reticle or photomask (hereinafter referred to as a reticle) on which the predetermined pattern is drawn Is widely used. In this reticle formation method, a light shielding film such as chromium (Cr) or silicon is first formed on a transparent substrate such as low expansion coefficient glass or quartz polished to a high flatness, and a photoresist is formed on the light shielding film. Apply. And after exposing and developing using an electron beam exposure apparatus etc., the unnecessary part of the light shielding film which is not covered with a photoresist is removed by etching, and it forms. At the time of exposure, this reticle was used to transfer a pattern drawn on the reticle to the substrate to be exposed coated with a photoresist by equal magnification exposure or reduced projection exposure.

  However, in the above method, a reticle that requires complicated processing has to be formed for each pattern to be formed on the substrate to be exposed. Further, when a complicated integrated circuit is formed, since more than 20 reticles must be prepared, there are problems that it takes time to form the reticle and the cost is high. Furthermore, even if a slight design change occurs in the integrated circuit, the reticle has to be formed again.

Therefore, as a technique for solving the above-described problem, a method for forming a predetermined pattern on a substrate to be exposed using an exposure apparatus that uses a liquid crystal mask instead of a reticle is disclosed. According to the exposure method using the liquid crystal mask, the pattern can be freely changed by controlling the voltage applied to each pixel of the liquid crystal mask. That is, unlike the above-described reticle, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to newly form a reticle every time the pattern is changed.
JP 11-119439 A

  However, the exposure apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, it is known that when the exposure light emitted from the light source is irradiated onto the liquid crystal mask with an irradiation energy of, for example, 100 mJ, the temperature of the liquid crystal mask increases by 1 ° C. Due to the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask, bending due to thermal expansion occurs in the liquid crystal mask. Therefore, when exposure light is irradiated to the photosensitive resin on the substrate to be exposed through this liquid crystal mask, the amount of exposure light irradiated to the photosensitive resin varies depending on each region due to bending of the liquid crystal mask. It was difficult to form an accurate pattern.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an exposure apparatus and an electro-optical device that prevent deformation of the liquid crystal mask due to a temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask during exposure processing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an exposure apparatus for transferring a predetermined pattern to a substrate to be exposed using a liquid crystal mask, which is irradiated with a light source that emits exposure light and exposure light from the light source. Cooling means for cooling the liquid crystal mask.

  According to this configuration, since the exposure apparatus is provided with the cooling means for cooling the liquid crystal mask, an increase in the temperature of the liquid crystal mask due to exposure light exposure can be prevented. Thereby, thermal expansion of the liquid crystal mask due to temperature rise can be avoided, and deformation such as bending of the liquid crystal mask can be prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to transfer a highly accurate pattern by irradiating the substrate to be exposed with uniform exposure light through the liquid crystal mask.

  In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it is also preferable that the cooling means is a gas supply means for supplying a gas to the liquid crystal mask to cool the liquid crystal mask.

  According to this configuration, gas can be supplied to the liquid crystal mask using a gas supply means, for example, a fan. Thereby, the temperature of the liquid crystal mask whose temperature has been increased by exposure light exposure can be reduced by the gas. Therefore, thermal expansion due to the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask can be avoided, and deformation such as bending of the liquid crystal mask can be prevented.

  The exposure apparatus of the present invention preferably further comprises a gas supply auxiliary means for supplying gas in a direction in which the liquid crystal mask is provided between the liquid crystal mask and the gas supply means.

  According to this configuration, since the gas supply auxiliary means for supplying gas in the liquid crystal mask direction is provided, the gas supplied from the gas supply means is guided in the liquid crystal mask direction. Thereby, gas can be efficiently supplied to the liquid crystal mask.

  In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the gas supply auxiliary means is a rectifying plate, and a groove portion constituting a gas flow path along a direction in which the liquid crystal mask is provided on at least one surface side of the rectifying plate. It is also preferable that is provided.

  According to this configuration, the gas supplied from the gas supply means flows into the groove provided in the rectifying plate. Since the groove is provided along the direction in which the liquid crystal mask is provided, the gas flowing into the groove is guided in the direction of the liquid crystal mask. Thereby, gas can be efficiently supplied to the liquid crystal mask.

  In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it is also preferable that a holding member that holds the liquid crystal mask functions as the rectifying plate.

  According to this configuration, the function of the current plate can be achieved by the holding member without providing a separate current plate. Thereby, cost can be reduced and gas can be efficiently supplied to the liquid crystal mask.

  In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the liquid crystal mask includes a liquid crystal device and a pair of polarizing plates disposed opposite to each of the one surface side and the other surface side of the liquid crystal device, and at least one of the pair of polarizing plates is The liquid crystal device is provided with a gap between the liquid crystal device, and the gap is a flow path for the gas supplied from the gas supply means to pass between the liquid crystal device and the polarizing plate. It is also preferable that there is.

In the present invention, the liquid crystal mask is composed of a liquid crystal device and a pair of polarizing plates arranged on one side and the other side of the liquid crystal device.
According to this configuration, the gap portion that is a gas flow path is provided between the liquid crystal mask and the polarizing plate. Therefore, compared with the case where the liquid crystal mask and the polarizing plate are integrated, the contact area between the cooling gas supplied by the gas supply means and the liquid crystal mask and the polarizing plate is increased. As a result, the cooling gas passes through the gap, so that the opposing surface of the liquid crystal mask and the polarizing plate is cooled by the cooling gas, avoiding thermal expansion due to the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask, and deforming the liquid crystal mask such as bending. Can be prevented.

  In addition to the cooling means, the exposure apparatus of the present invention corresponds to a magnifying lens that expands the exposure light emitted from the light source and irradiates the liquid crystal mask, and an exposure light irradiation area expanded by the magnifying lens A liquid crystal mask capable of forming a pattern obtained by enlarging a pattern actually formed on the substrate to be exposed; a reduction lens that reduces the exposure light transmitted through the liquid crystal mask and irradiates the substrate to be exposed; It is characterized by providing.

  According to this configuration, since the exposure light emitted from the light source is magnified by the magnifying lens, the amount of light (flux) per unit area of the exposure light emitted from the light source is reduced. Then, the enlarged exposure light is applied to the enlarged liquid crystal mask. Thereby, the light quantity (illuminance) of the exposure light irradiated per unit area of the enlarged liquid crystal mask is reduced, and the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask can be prevented. Therefore, by combining with the cooling means, it is possible to more efficiently avoid thermal expansion due to the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask and prevent deformation such as bending of the liquid crystal mask.

The electro-optical device of the present invention includes a substrate having a pattern manufactured by the exposure apparatus.
In the electro-optical device of the present invention, since the electro-optical device is manufactured by the exposure apparatus, a highly accurate electro-optical device can be manufactured.

[First Embodiment]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used for the following description, the scale of each member is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

(Exposure equipment)
Next, a schematic configuration of the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the exposure apparatus 70 includes a light source 5 that emits exposure light, a liquid crystal mask 8 that transmits the exposure light in a predetermined pattern, a mask stage 72 that supports the liquid crystal mask 8, and the liquid crystal mask 8. A reduction lens 9 that forms an image of the transmitted exposure light on the substrate 1 to be exposed and a stage 2 that supports the substrate 1 to be exposed are provided. In addition, the exposure apparatus 70 of the present embodiment is accommodated in the chamber 80 and can perform air conditioning management.

The light source 5 irradiates the liquid crystal mask 8 with exposure light. As the light source 5, for example, a bright line (g line, h line, i line) emitted from a mercury lamp, far ultraviolet light (DUV light) such as KrF excimer laser light, vacuum such as ArF excimer laser light or F ₂ laser light. Ultraviolet light (VUV light) or the like can be used.

  The exposure light emitted from the light source 5 is once collected by, for example, a light guide and distributed evenly, and then emitted with a uniform illuminance distribution. The condenser lens forms an image on the liquid crystal mask 8 of the exposure light having a uniform illuminance distribution. Then, the exposure light transmitted through the liquid crystal mask 8 is irradiated to the photosensitive material on the substrate 1 to be exposed through the reduction lens 9, and the exposure light having a predetermined pattern transmitted through the liquid crystal mask 8 is transferred.

  The stage 2 is connected to a drive motor, and can be moved and rotated in a predetermined direction by the control device 6 controlling the drive motor. Specifically, by driving the drive motor, the stage 2 can move in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, and can rotate around the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. It has become. A substrate 1 to be exposed for exposing a pattern is placed on the stage 2 and is fixed to the stage 2 by vacuum suction (or electrostatic suction) provided on the stage 2.

(LCD mask)
Next, a liquid crystal mask installed in the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal mask 8, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of the liquid crystal mask 8 of FIG. 2. In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal mask 8 includes a liquid crystal device 50 and a pair of first polarizing plate 28 and a second polarizing plate 30 disposed to face each other on one side and the other side of the liquid crystal device 50. The liquid crystal mask 8 of the present embodiment employs a passive matrix method as a pixel driving method. The first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 30 constituting the liquid crystal mask 8 will be described later. In FIG. 2, the alignment films 14 and 22 are omitted.
(Liquid crystal device)

  The liquid crystal device 50 includes a first substrate 10, a second substrate 16 disposed so as to face the first substrate 10, and a liquid crystal layer 26 sandwiched between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 16. In the present embodiment, the surfaces of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 16 on the side where the liquid crystal layer 26 is disposed are called inner surfaces, and the surfaces of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 16 on the opposite side are called outer surfaces. Call. In addition, the light source 5 is installed above the outer surface side of the first substrate 10, and the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 enters from the outer surface side of the first substrate 10.

  The first substrate 10 is made of a transparent material having optical transparency such as glass, quartz, or plastic so that the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 is transmitted. In addition, the 1st board | substrate 10 can also be formed with the material which consists of a translucent material.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of first electrodes 12 extend in the Y-axis direction on the inner surface side of the first substrate 10 and are formed in a stripe shape. The first electrode 12 is formed by vapor deposition or the like using, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) which is a transparent material.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the alignment film 14 is formed on the inner surface side of the first substrate 10 so as to cover the entire surface of the plurality of first electrodes 12. The alignment film 14 is formed of an organic thin film such as polyimide, and the surface of the alignment film 14 is subjected to a rubbing process for defining the alignment direction of the liquid crystal layer 26 when no voltage is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal layer 26 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 16 disposed to face the first substrate 10. The liquid crystal layer 26 can employ various liquid crystals in operation modes such as a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, an STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode, and a VAN (Vertical Aligned Nematic) mode.

  Similar to the first substrate 10, the second substrate 16 is formed of a transparent material having optical transparency such as glass, quartz, or plastic, transmits the exposure light that has passed through the liquid crystal layer 26, and transmits the second substrate 16. The exposure light transmitted to the outer surface side of the light is emitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of second electrodes 18 extends in the X-axis direction on the inner surface side of the second substrate 16 and is formed in a stripe shape. That is, each of the plurality of second electrodes 18 is arranged so as to intersect with each of the first electrodes 12 formed on the inner surface side of the first substrate 10, and the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 18 intersect with each other. These regions are pixels. The second electrode 18 is formed by vapor deposition or the like using, for example, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) which is a transparent material.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the alignment film 22 is formed on the inner surface side of the second substrate 16 so as to cover the entire surface of the plurality of second electrodes 18. The alignment film 22 is formed of an organic thin film such as polyimide, and the surface of the alignment film 22 is subjected to a rubbing process for defining the alignment direction of the liquid crystal layer 26 when no voltage is applied.

Next, the cooling means installed in the exposure apparatus will be described.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the cooling means 90 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling unit 90 includes a cooling fan 76 (gas supply unit) that blows gas to the liquid crystal mask 8, and rectification that blows the liquid gas to the liquid crystal mask 8 while adjusting the flow direction of the cooled gas in a certain direction. And a plate 74 (gas supply auxiliary means).

  The cooling fan 76 includes a drive motor that drives a plurality of blade members 82, a plurality of oblong blade members 82 that are pivotally supported on the rotation shaft of the drive motor, and a cylindrical housing 84 that houses these members. It has. The cooling fan 76 is disposed on the side of the liquid crystal mask 8 so that the gas to be blown can be supplied to the side surface of the liquid crystal mask 8. With such a configuration of the cooling fan 76, when the drive motor is driven, the plurality of blade members 82 rotate and gas is blown in the side surface direction of the liquid crystal mask 8. As the gas to be blown, the gas cooled by the cooling fan 76 may be blown, or the gas inside the chamber may be circulated and blown as it is.

  The rectifying plate 74 is used to efficiently supply the cooling gas to the liquid crystal mask 8 by adjusting the flow direction of the supplied cooling gas in a certain direction, and is arranged between the liquid crystal mask 8 and the cooling fan 76. . The rectifying plate 74 is formed by bringing the longitudinal surfaces of a plurality of elongated cylinders into contact with each other, and the cross section of the rectifying plate 74 has a shape in which a substantially circular shape is repeated. As a result, a substantially V-shaped groove 74 a is formed between the repeated circular shapes of the rectifying plate 74. When the current plate 74 is viewed in plan, a plurality of groove portions 74 a are formed in a stripe shape, and the formation direction of the groove portions 74 a is formed to be substantially perpendicular to the side surface 8 a of the liquid crystal mask 8. Thereby, since the groove part 74a is provided along the liquid crystal mask 8 direction, the gas flowing into the groove part 74a is guided in the liquid crystal mask 8 direction, and the cooling gas is efficiently supplied to the liquid crystal mask 8. In addition, the groove part 74a formed in the rectifying plate 74 may be formed on one side of the rectifying plate 74, or may be formed on both sides.

  Further, the thickness of the rectifying plate 74 (Z-axis direction of the cylinder) is formed to be substantially equal to the thickness of the liquid crystal device 50, and the length of the rectifying plate 74 in the Y-axis direction is the length of the side surface 8 a of the liquid crystal device 50. It is formed so as to be substantially equal to the longitudinal direction. The height of the rectifying plate 74 is arranged such that the height of the upper surface of the rectifying plate 74 is substantially equal to the height of the upper surface of the liquid crystal device 50. The flow rate of the gas blown to the liquid crystal mask 8 can also be controlled by changing the height at which the rectifying plate 74 is arranged or rotating the rectifying plate 74 in the X-axis direction or the Z-axis direction. Moreover, the cross-sectional shape of the groove part 74a formed in the baffle plate 74 is not limited to V shape, A various shape is employable.

  Returning to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first polarizing plate 28 is disposed on the outer surface side of the first substrate 10 of the liquid crystal device 50, and the second polarizing plate 30 is disposed on the outer surface side of the second substrate 16. . The first polarizing plate 28 is disposed substantially parallel to the first substrate 10 at a predetermined interval, and a gap 86 is provided between the first polarizing plate 28 and the first substrate 10. Similarly, a gap 86 is provided between the second polarizing plate 30 and the second substrate 16. In the present embodiment, the gap 86 is a cooling gas flow path for allowing the gas supplied from the cooling fan 76 to pass from one side surface 8a to the other side surface 8b of the liquid crystal mask. Due to the gap portion 86, the contact area between the cooling gas supplied by the cooling fan 76 and the liquid crystal device 50, the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 30 is increased, and the cooling gas passing through the gap portion 86 The facing surfaces of the liquid crystal device 50 and the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 30 are cooled. Note that one of the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 30 may be placed in contact with the liquid crystal device 50 and the other may be separated from the liquid crystal device 50. In this case, it is preferable to separate the first polarizing plate 28 to which the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 first arrives.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the exhaust unit 78 is provided on the side opposite to the side of the liquid crystal mask 8 in which the cooling fan 76 is disposed, and is attached to the side surface of the chamber 80. The exhaust unit 78 is provided with an exhaust port 79 that allows the inside of the chamber 80 to communicate with the outside, and the gas whose temperature has risen due to cooling of the liquid crystal mask 8 is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust port 79. Air conditioning can be controlled. In addition, it is possible to remove particles inside the chamber 80 inside the chamber 80 by providing a filter in the exhaust part 78.

  According to the present embodiment, since the exposure apparatus 70 is provided with the cooling fan 76 that cools the liquid crystal mask 8, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the liquid crystal mask 8 from rising due to exposure light exposure. Thereby, the thermal expansion of the liquid crystal mask 8 due to a temperature rise can be avoided, and deformation such as bending of the liquid crystal mask 8 can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to transfer a highly accurate pattern by irradiating the substrate to be exposed 1 with uniform exposure light through the liquid crystal mask 8.

[Second Embodiment]
The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the first embodiment, as a means for avoiding a temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask, the liquid crystal mask is cooled by providing a cooling means in the exposure apparatus. The present embodiment is different in that the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask 8 is suppressed by combining a liquid crystal mask with an enlarged irradiation area in addition to the cooling means.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a schematic configuration of the exposure apparatus 70 of the present embodiment.
In the said 1st Embodiment, the illumination intensity per unit area of the exposure light irradiated to the 1st polarizing plate of the liquid crystal mask 8 or the outer surface side of a 1st board | substrate is about 100 mJ / cm < ² >, The temperature as the liquid crystal mask 8 whole. Increases by 1 ° C. As a result, the liquid crystal mask 8 is thermally expanded, and bending occurs. In this embodiment, the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask 8 due to the exposure light is suppressed within a range of 0.1 ° C. to 0.2 ° C. In other words, by suppressing the amount of light per unit area of the exposure light irradiated on the outer surface side of the first polarizing plate or the first substrate to 20 mJ / cm ^{2 or} less, the temperature rise of the entire liquid crystal mask 8 is 0.1 ° C. to Keep within the range of 0.2 ° C.

  In the exposure apparatus 70 of the present embodiment, a magnifying lens system 7 (magnifying lens) for magnifying exposure light emitted from the light source 5 is provided between the light source 5 and the liquid crystal mask 8. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the liquid crystal mask 8 having a plane area of about 5 times that of the first embodiment is used. Therefore, the magnifying lens system 7 uses a magnifying lens having a magnification that can irradiate the entire plane of the liquid crystal mask 8 with the exposure light, and enlarges the exposure light emitted from the light source 5. As a result, the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 is magnified by the magnifying lens system 7, and is irradiated onto the entire plane of the liquid crystal mask 8 having a plane area of the liquid crystal mask 8 approximately five times that of the first embodiment. Accordingly, the amount of light per unit area of the exposure light magnified by the magnifying lens system 7 is about 1/5 times that of the first embodiment when the same light source 5 as that of the first embodiment is used. It becomes. As described above, by expanding the exposure light emitted from the light source 5, the amount of light per unit area of the exposure light irradiated on the liquid crystal mask 8 can be reduced. In addition, it is also possible to irradiate exposure light to the enlarged plane of the liquid crystal mask 8 by adjusting the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 without using the magnifying lens system 7.

The area of the plane of the liquid crystal mask 8 of the present embodiment is about five times the area of the plane of the liquid crystal mask 8 used in the first embodiment (the area of the plane of the liquid crystal mask 8 generally used in the market). It is formed as follows. The liquid crystal mask 8 is irradiated with the exposure light magnified by the magnifying lens system 7. At this time, as described above, the exposure light applied to the liquid crystal mask 8 is enlarged by the magnifying lens system 7 so as to be applied to the entire plane area of the liquid crystal mask 8. Thereby, the light quantity per unit area of the exposure light irradiated to the liquid crystal mask 8 is about 20 mJ / cm ² . Therefore, the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask 8 can be suppressed to about 0.2 degrees.

  The exposure light that has passed through the liquid crystal mask 8 is reduced by the reduction lens 9, and a predetermined pattern is irradiated onto the photosensitive material on the exposure substrate 1 placed on the stage. As the reduction lens 9, a lens that reduces the exposure light to about 1/5 is used. As a result, a predetermined pattern can be formed on the photosensitive material on the exposed substrate 1 at a magnification before being magnified by the magnifying lens system 7. That is, the pattern finally formed on the photosensitive material of the substrate 1 to be exposed has the same size as the first embodiment.

  According to the present embodiment, since the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 is magnified by the magnifying lens system 7, the amount of light (flux) per unit area of the exposure light emitted from the light source 5 is reduced. Then, the enlarged exposure light is applied to the enlarged liquid crystal mask 8. Thereby, the light quantity (illuminance) of the exposure light irradiated per unit area of the enlarged liquid crystal mask 8 is reduced, and the temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask 8 can be prevented. Therefore, by combining the cooling unit 90 described in the first embodiment and the present embodiment, thermal expansion due to temperature rise of the liquid crystal mask 8 can be avoided more efficiently, and deformation such as bending of the liquid crystal mask 8 can be prevented. be able to.

(Electro-optical device)
Next, a liquid crystal display device (electro-optical device) including a substrate on which wirings and electrodes formed by the exposure apparatus are formed will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device 100 as viewed from the counter substrate side together with each component, and FIG. 6B is a side cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device 100 taken along line BB ′. In all the drawings below, the film thicknesses and dimensional ratios of the constituent elements are appropriately changed in order to make the drawings easy to see.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, in the liquid crystal display device 100 of this embodiment, the TFT array substrate (active matrix substrate) 34 and the counter substrate 36 have a substantially rectangular frame shape in plan view. A liquid crystal panel 110 having a configuration in which the liquid crystal layer 51 is sealed in a region surrounded by the seal material 52 and is surrounded by the seal material 52, and disposed on the back side (lower side of FIG. 5B). The backlight (illuminating means) 120 is configured.

  In the liquid crystal panel 110, a peripheral parting 53 having a rectangular frame shape in plan view is formed along the inner peripheral side of the sealing material 52, and a display area (pixel portion) 38 is formed in an area inside the peripheral parting. In the area outside the sealing material 52, the data line driving circuit 201 and the external circuit mounting terminal 202 are formed along one side (the lower side in the drawing) of the TFT array substrate 34, and two sides adjacent to this one side are formed. Scanning line drive circuits 204 and 204 are formed along the lines. On the remaining one side (the upper side in the figure) of the TFT array substrate 34, a plurality of wirings 205 for connecting the scanning line drive circuits 204 on both sides of the display area 11 are provided.

  In addition, an inter-substrate conductive material 206 for providing electrical continuity between the TFT array substrate 34 and the counter substrate 36 is disposed at each corner of the counter substrate 36. The liquid crystal display device 100 of the present embodiment is configured as a transflective liquid crystal display device. In the transmissive display mode, the illumination light from the backlight 120 disposed on the back side is modulated by the liquid crystal panel 110. Light is emitted as display light from the counter substrate 36 side, and in the reflective display mode, light incident from the counter substrate 36 side is reflected and modulated by the liquid crystal layer 51 by a reflective layer (not shown) provided in the liquid crystal panel 110. It emits as display light.

In the liquid crystal display device 100, the type of liquid crystal used, that is, TN (Twisted Nem)
a retardation plate, a polarizing plate, and the like are arranged in a predetermined direction according to an operation mode such as an atic) mode, an STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode, a vertical alignment mode, or a normally white mode / normally black mode. However, illustration is omitted here.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the example mentioned above, Of course, a various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. Moreover, you may combine each example mentioned above in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.
In the above embodiment, the rectifying plate is used as the gas supply auxiliary means, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, by forming a groove in the mask stage (holding member) that holds the liquid crystal mask, the flow direction of the cooling gas supplied from the cooling fan is adjusted to a certain direction, and the cooling gas is efficiently supplied to the liquid crystal mask. Is also possible. It is also possible to combine a current plate and a mask stage.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal mask of a passive matrix system similarly. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A ′ of the liquid crystal mask shown in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the cooling means of exposure apparatus equally. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the exposure apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5A is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of the electro-optical device, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B ′ of the electro-optical device illustrated in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate to be exposed, 5 ... Light source, 7 ... Magnifying lens system (magnifying lens), 8 ... Liquid crystal mask, 9 ... Reduction lens, 50 ... Liquid crystal device, 74 ... Rectification plate (gas supply auxiliary means), 74a ... Groove, 76 ... Cooling fan (gas supply means), 90 ... Cooling means, 100 ... Liquid crystal display device (electro-optical device)

Claims (8)

An exposure apparatus for transferring a predetermined pattern to a substrate to be exposed using a liquid crystal mask,
A light source that emits exposure light;
A cooling means for cooling the liquid crystal mask irradiated with exposure light from the light source;
An exposure apparatus comprising:   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is a gas supply unit that supplies gas to the liquid crystal mask to cool the liquid crystal mask.   3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising gas supply auxiliary means for supplying gas in a direction in which the liquid crystal mask is provided between the liquid crystal mask and the gas supply means. The gas supply auxiliary means is a current plate;
4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a groove portion constituting a gas flow path is provided on at least one surface side of the rectifying plate along a direction in which the liquid crystal mask is provided.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a holding member that holds the liquid crystal mask functions as the rectifying plate. The liquid crystal mask includes a liquid crystal device and a pair of polarizing plates disposed opposite to each of the one surface side and the other surface side of the liquid crystal device,
At least one of the pair of polarizing plates is provided with a gap between the liquid crystal device,
6. The gap according to claim 2, wherein the gap is a flow path for allowing the gas supplied from the gas supply means to pass between the liquid crystal device and the polarizing plate. The exposure apparatus according to item. A magnifying lens that expands the exposure light emitted from the light source and irradiates the liquid crystal mask; and
A liquid crystal mask capable of forming a pattern in which a pattern actually formed on the substrate to be exposed is enlarged so as to correspond to an irradiation area of the exposure light enlarged by the magnifying lens;
A reduction lens that reduces the exposure light transmitted through the liquid crystal mask and irradiates the substrate to be exposed;
The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:   An electro-optical device comprising a substrate having a pattern manufactured by the exposure apparatus according to claim 1.

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