JP2007148414A - Workpiece chuck and its controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure apparatus having a workpiece chuck that can decrease deformation or distortion easily induced in a workpiece (substrate) with increase in the size of the workpiece. <P>SOLUTION: The workpiece chuck to suck and mount the workpiece W has a plurality of sucking regions 81a to 81d on its workpiece mount face, in which a plurality of lands 812 are arranged inside each sucking region, the lands having the same height as that of region walls, a portion excluding the region walls and the lands is formed into a recessed portion so as to independently and selectively control each sucking region to be in a positive, negative or atmospheric pressure state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus and method for color filters used in, for example, a liquid crystal color display and a plasma color display, and specifically, a mask pattern of a mask is exposed and transferred onto a workpiece which is a substrate made of glass or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a work chuck of an exposure apparatus that can be suitably used and a control method thereof.

In proximity exposure or the like, a translucent work (substrate) having a surface coated with a photosensitive agent is held on a work chuck placed on a work stage of a proximity exposure apparatus, and the work is held on a mask stage. The mask is drawn close to the mask so that the gap between them is several tens of μm to several hundreds of μm, and then the exposure light is irradiated onto the workpiece by the irradiation device from the side away from the workpiece of the mask. The mask pattern is transferred by exposure.
Recently, there has been a demand for mass production of large liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, and the like. In this case, it is necessary to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the exposed pattern without color unevenness.

As an example of high efficiency, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a so-called multi-chamfering method in which a plurality of displays are made with one work. In this example, nine 18-inch display materials DP can be made by a 1000 mm × 1200 mm workpiece.
In such a case, a mask smaller than the work is used, and the work is step-moved with respect to the mask in a state where the mask is disposed close to the work and light for pattern exposure is directed toward the work at each step. A divided sequential proximity exposure method has been proposed in which a plurality of mask patterns drawn on the mask M are exposed and transferred onto a workpiece to create a plurality of display materials DP on a single workpiece (for example, JP, 2002-365810, A).

Further, as a holding device for sucking and holding an exposed member such as a wafer and a shadow mask to the exposure apparatus, the chuck surface is connected to the upper surface of the mounting table on which the exposed member is placed and communicated with a suction path led from the outside. In addition, it is known that a plurality of chuck bodies with a structure that automatically switches between the adsorption and non-adsorption states depending on the presence or absence of the exposed member can be arranged and the suction path can be automatically opened and closed depending on the presence and size of the exposed member. (For example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-74244).
JP 2002-365810 A (FIGS. 1 to 6, page 6, right column, lines 14 to 20) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-74244 (FIGS. 1 to 3, 4, and 6)

  However, in recent years, as many color filters as possible have been manufactured with one workpiece (substrate), and the size of the substrate has been increased more and more (for example, 1100 × 1300) in order to increase the throughput, and a thin wall for reducing the weight of the substrate. In the manufacturing process by the division sequential proximity exposure apparatus etc. as disclosed in Patent Document 1 due to the demand for the conversion, the work used is deformed from the beginning, or the handling, loading, suction, etc. of the work is handled At times, the workpiece is deformed due to the work support method or unevenness of the suction, or the work is distorted or uneven. For this reason, there is a problem that pattern accuracy of a color filter or the like manufactured by exposure deteriorates and color unevenness occurs.

However, the divided sequential proximity exposure apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not disclose a specific work chuck for solving such a problem.
In addition, a suction holding device used in the exposure apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 shown in FIG. 14 mounts a plurality of chucks having a structure that automatically switches between an adsorption state and a non-adsorption state depending on the size of the object to be exposed and the presence or absence of the object. Since it is arranged on the table, the suction area can be automatically selected according to the presence / absence of the exposed member and the size, but if the workpiece that is to be exposed becomes larger and heavier, In this suction holding device, there is a limit to the size reduction of the chuck, and since there is a need to provide a suction path in the mounting table for leading the suction source to the chuck, the placement and number of the mounting table are limited to maintain the rigidity of the mounting table. This makes it difficult to uniformly adsorb and fix the workpiece. In addition, when the workpiece mounting surface is cleaned with clean positive pressure air and then fixed by suction, or when switching the positive pressure and negative pressure states of the suction area for work deformation correction, etc., this conventional technology can handle this. I can't.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a technical problem, and even in a state in which a work such as a multi-face exposure of a color filter is enlarged, color unevenness in an exposure pattern of the color filter is prevented and high accuracy is achieved. An object of the present invention is to provide a work chuck for achieving high-throughput exposure.

In order to achieve the above object, a work chuck invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a mask having a pattern to be exposed on an exposure surface of a work upon receiving light from an irradiation means for pattern exposure on the work, and the mask. In a work chuck in which a workpiece as an exposed material is disposed oppositely, the position facing the mask is changed, and the pattern of the mask is exposed on the workpiece.
The work chuck is provided with a plurality of suction areas on the work placement surface of the work chuck, a land for supporting the work on the inner side of the suction area, and a recess in a portion excluding the land, A positive / negative pressure control device that selectively controls the adsorption and non-adsorption states is provided.

Similarly, in the work chuck according to claim 2 of the present invention, the suction region is provided in an axially symmetric position with respect to at least one of the central axes orthogonal to each other in the work placement surface of the work chuck. Features.
Similarly, in the work chuck invention according to claim 3 of the present invention, the work chuck is provided in an axially symmetric position with respect to at least one of the orthogonal central axes within the work placement surface of the work chuck. And a lift pin that advances and retreats at the same height in a direction perpendicular to the work placement surface of the work chuck.

Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 4 of the present invention controls the positive / negative pressure control device to selectively change the suction state of the plurality of suction regions between the exposure time and the non-exposure time. It is characterized by.
Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is characterized in that the positive / negative pressure control device selectively controls the plurality of suction regions to any one of a positive pressure state, a negative pressure state, and an atmospheric pressure state.

Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is such that the work chuck is in a direction perpendicular to the work placement surface, the upper divided chuck constituting the placement surface, and the base chuck for supporting the upper divided chuck. The upper divided work chuck and the base chuck are integrated by a detachable fastening means.
Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 7 of the present invention is characterized in that the upper divided chuck of the work chuck is divided into a plurality of parts within the work mounting surface.

Similarly, in the work chuck invention according to claim 8 of the present invention, the plurality of suction regions are surrounded by a region wall having the same height as the land, and among the region walls, adjacent suction regions are provided. The region wall at the boundary is formed in a wave shape with a planar shape on the mounting surface.
Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 9 of the present invention is such that the land of the work chuck has one of a square shape, a rectangular shape, a circular shape, an elliptical shape, and a corrugated shape in plan view on the work placing surface. It consists of a combination of two or more of.

Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 10 of the present invention has a recess on which the work mounting surface of the land in the work chuck is selectively controlled to one of a positive pressure state, a negative pressure state, and an atmospheric pressure state. Features.
Similarly, the work chuck invention according to claim 11 of the present invention is characterized in that the work chuck has a relief recess that is lower than the height of the region wall along the peripheral edge of the work chuck.

  Similarly, a work chuck control method according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention includes: a mask having a pattern to be exposed on an exposure surface of a work upon receiving light from an irradiation means for pattern exposure on the work; In a work chuck control method in which a work as an exposure material is held, a position facing the mask is changed, and a pattern of the mask is exposed on the work. A plurality of suction areas are provided on the mounting surface, a land for supporting the workpiece is provided inside the suction area, and a recess is provided in a portion of the suction area excluding the area wall and the land, and the suction area is sucked. And selectively controlled to a non-adsorption state.

  Similarly, the work chuck control method according to a thirteenth aspect is characterized in that the suction states of the plurality of suction regions are all in a suction state only when the exposure is performed.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of independent suction areas for the work are provided on the work mounting surface of the work chuck, and the positive pressure, negative pressure, or atmospheric pressure state in each suction area can be controlled independently. Even with a large workpiece W, the workpiece W can be adsorbed and mounted with little deformation and distortion, and color unevenness of a pattern such as a color filter exposed to the workpiece W can be prevented.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a division sequential proximity exposure apparatus as a good example in which the work chuck of the present invention is used, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the mask stage portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of an example of a mask used in the case of step exposure of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5A of FIG. The top view which shows the workpiece mounting surface of the workpiece chuck in 1 embodiment, FIG.5 (b) is sectional drawing of the workpiece mounting surface vicinity of the workpiece chuck in the XX cross section of Fig.5 (a), The figure of FIG. 6 (a) is a plan view showing an example of the shape of the area wall and land in the adsorption area of the workpiece mounting surface, showing the vicinity of the portion A in FIG. 5 (a) as a representative example, and FIG. As a representative example, the vicinity of part A in FIG. FIG. 6C is a plan view showing another example of the shape of the area wall and land in the adsorption area of the work placement surface, and FIG. 6C shows the vicinity of the portion A in FIG. 5A as a representative example. FIG. 7A is a plan view showing another example of the shape of the area wall and land in the adsorption area of the work placement surface, and FIG. 7A shows a work as a representative example in the vicinity of part A in FIG. The top view which shows the adsorption | suction area | region enclosed by the linear area | region wall along the work chuck peripheral edge of the workpiece | work chucking surface of a chuck | zipper, and the corrugated area | region wall which cross | intersects this area | region wall, and the corrugated land in the inside 7 (b) is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement when the lands in FIG. 7 (a) are arranged with the lands shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c). FIG. 7 (c) is similar to FIG. a) to FIG. 6 (c), FIG. 7 (a) to FIG. 7 (b), and FIG. FIG. 7D is a cross-sectional view showing a positive / negative pressure type land having a land recess for making a pressure / negative pressure and atmospheric pressure state, FIG. 7D is a work chuck work piece showing the vicinity of portion A in FIG. A positive / negative pressure type having a land (FIG. 6 (a) to FIG. 6 (c)) in the adsorption area of the mounting surface and a recess for selectively setting the upper end surface of the land to a positive pressure / negative pressure and atmospheric pressure state. FIG. 7 (e) is a front view in the direction of arrow B showing the resist relief provided along the peripheral edge of the work chuck, as an example applied to FIG. 7 (b), FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a positive / negative pressure control device that selectively controls a suction area of a work chuck to positive pressure, negative pressure, and atmospheric pressure states. FIG. 9 is a front view of a Z-direction coarse movement apparatus according to a second embodiment of the work chuck of the present invention, which relates to the Z-direction coarse movement of the work chuck. 10A of FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a work placement surface of the work chuck according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 10B to 10D are views corresponding to the size of the work. The schematic diagram which showed the example of how to use the adsorption | suction area | region of the workpiece | work mounting surface of 10 (a). FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a work placement surface of a work chuck according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 12A of FIG. 12 is a front view of the split type work chuck in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12B is the front split chuck on the work mounting surface in FIG. The top view which shows the example divided into 4 equal parts. FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a process sequence of a photo-etching method showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention as an example of a method for forming a mounting surface pattern on the work mounting surface of the work chuck of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a plan view of a suction holding device which is a conventional work chuck.

First, the structure and operation of a divided sequential proximity exposure apparatus known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-365810 and the like, in which the work chuck according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a work stage and is preferably used. A brief explanation will be given.
1 to 4, reference numeral 1 is a mask stage for holding a mask M, 2 is a work stage for holding a workpiece W (hereinafter, a substrate as an exposed material is simply referred to as a workpiece W), and 3 is an irradiation means for pattern exposure. The illumination optical system 4 is an apparatus base that supports the mask stage 1 and the work stage 2, and the work W is arranged to face the mask M so as to expose and transfer the mask pattern P drawn on the mask M. A photosensitive agent (resist) is applied to the (opposite surface of the mask M).

  For convenience of explanation, the illumination optical system 3 will be described. The illumination optical system 3 includes, for example, a high-pressure mercury lamp 31 that is a light source for ultraviolet irradiation, and a concave mirror 32 that collects light emitted from the high-pressure mercury lamp 31. Two types of optical integrators 33a and 33b arranged so as to be switchable in the vicinity of the focal point of the concave mirror 32, plane mirrors 35 and 36, and a curved mirror 37 that guides a light beam incident through the plane mirrors 35 and 36 to the exposure surface as a parallel light beam, An exposure control shutter 34 is provided between the flat mirror 36 and the optical integrators 33a and 33b and controls the opening and closing of the irradiation light path.

  When the exposure control shutter 34 is controlled to be opened at the time of exposure, the light irradiated from the high-pressure mercury lamp 31 is disposed on the mask M held on the mask stage 1 and the work stage 2 through the optical path L shown in FIG. Alternatively, the light is irradiated as parallel light for pattern exposure perpendicularly to the surface of the work W (not shown in FIG. 1) held by the work chuck 8 that is placed and fixed. P is exposed and transferred onto the workpiece W.

Next, the mask stage 1 and the work stage 2 will be described in this order.
The mask stage 1 includes a mask stage base 11, and the mask stage base 11 is supported by a mask stage support 12 protruding from the apparatus base 4 and is disposed above the work stage.
As shown in FIG. 2, the mask stage base 11 has a rectangular shape and has an opening 111 at the center. A mask holding frame 13 is mounted on the opening 111 so as to be movable in the X and Y directions. Yes.

Next, the work stage 2 on which the work chuck 8 is placed is installed on the apparatus base 4, and a Z-axis feed base (gap for adjusting the gap between the opposing surfaces of the mask M and the work W to a predetermined amount). Adjusting means) 6 and a work stage feed mechanism 7 disposed on the Z-axis feed base 6 and moving the work stage 2 in the Y-axis direction.
The Z-axis feed base 6 includes a Z-axis coarse movement stage 62 that is supported by a vertical coarse movement device 61 erected on the apparatus base 4 so as to be capable of coarse movement in the Z-axis direction, and an upper portion of the Z-axis coarse movement stage 62. And a Z-axis fine movement stage 64 supported via an up / down fine movement device 63. For example, a pneumatic cylinder is used as the vertical movement device 61. By performing a simple vertical movement, the Z-axis coarse movement stage 62 is moved up and down without measuring the gap between the mask M and the substrate W to a preset position. Let

  On the other hand, the vertical fine movement device 63 includes a movable wedge mechanism formed by combining a motor, a ball screw, and a wedge. In this embodiment, for example, a ball screw is driven by a motor 631 installed on the upper surface of the Z-axis coarse movement stage 62. The screw shaft 632 is driven to rotate, and the ball screw nut 633 is formed in a wedge shape, and the inclined surface of the wedge nut 633 is engaged with the inclined surface of the wedge 641 protruding from the lower surface of the Z-axis fine movement stage 64. This constitutes a movable wedge mechanism.

When the screw shaft 632 of the ball screw is rotationally driven, the wedge-shaped nut 633 is finely moved in the Y-axis direction, and this horizontal fine movement is converted into a highly accurate vertical fine movement by the slope action of the wedges 633 and 641. The
The vertical fine movement device 63 composed of this movable wedge mechanism is installed in two units on one end side (front side in FIG. 1) in the Y-axis direction of the Z-axis fine movement stage 64, and one unit on the other end side. In this way, the vertical fine movement device 63 adds to the function of finely adjusting the height of the Z-axis fine movement stage 64 to the target value while measuring the gap between the mask M and the substrate W. Thus, it also has a tilt function for finely adjusting the inclination with respect to the horizontal plane.

  The work stage feed mechanism 7 includes two sets of linear guides 71 that are spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction on the upper surface of the Z-axis fine movement stage 64 and extend along the Y-axis direction, and a slider ( (Not shown)) and a Y-axis feed drive device 73 for moving the Y-axis feed stand 72 in the Y-axis direction. The motor 731 of the Y-axis feed drive device 73 A Y-axis feed base 72 is connected to a ball screw nut (not shown) screwed to a ball screw shaft 732 that is driven to rotate.

  The work stage 2 is mounted on the Y-axis feed base 72, and mirrors 741 of laser interferometers 743 and 744 as feed error detecting means 74 for detecting the Y-axis feed error of the work stage 2. , 742 are installed. The mirror 741 extends along the Y-axis direction on one side in the width direction of the Y-axis feed base 72, and the mirrors 742 are spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction on one end side in the Y-axis direction of the Y-axis feed base 72. Are arranged.

The feed error detecting means 74 is arranged so as to face the mirror 741 and supported by the apparatus base 4. The laser interferometer 743 for straightness detection and the two mirrors 742 are arranged opposite to each other and supported by the apparatus base 4. And a laser interferometer 744 for detecting the tilt of the table and the distance in the Y-axis direction.
Work stage 2 generated at the stage of sending the substrate W to the next area when the exposure is performed by connecting the second divided pattern following the exposure of the Y-axis feed base 72 and the first divided pattern from the laser interferometers 743 and 744. The feed error is detected and the detection signal is output to a correction control means (not shown).

The correction control means calculates a positioning correction amount for joint exposure based on this detection signal, and outputs the calculation result to the drive circuit of the mask position adjusting means 14 (and the vertical fine movement device 63 as necessary) As a result, the mask position adjusting means 14 and the like are driven according to the correction amount to correct the positional deviation.
The work stage 2 on which the work chuck 8 is disposed or fixed as described above is adjusted in the Z direction by the vertical coarse motion device 61 and the vertical fine motion device 63 with respect to the mask M, and in the Y axis direction, the work stage 2 is adjusted. Position adjustment is performed by the stage feed mechanism 7. The position of the mask M is adjusted in the XY directions by the mask holding frame 13.

  Then, a mask M having three mask patterns P in the X direction shown in FIG. 4 is placed on the mask stage 1 and the exposed surface of the work W placed on the work chuck 8 whose position is adjusted in the Y direction. In addition, while the mask pattern P of the mask M whose position is adjusted in the XY directions is moved relatively, the illumination optical system 3 performs the nine-face multi-face exposure shown in FIG.

The operation of the entire divided sequential proximity exposure apparatus in which the work chuck 8 which is a feature of the present invention is mounted on the work work stage 2 and used has been described above.
Next, a first embodiment of the work chuck 8 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5A shows a workpiece placement surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 in a plan view. Reference numerals 81 a, 81 b, 81 c, and 81 d indicate four independent suction regions that are disposed at axially symmetrical positions on the XY axis on the workpiece placement surface WS. Further, the fork groove 85 in the left-right symmetric position (in the X direction) in FIG. 5A is obtained from a pre-alignment table (not shown) in which the workpiece W is kept in a fixed positional relationship with the workpiece placement surface WS. When the work W is placed on the work placement surface WS by the fork, it is provided as a space necessary for the fork to move forward and backward.

First, the suction areas 81a to 81d provided on the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 are different in position, size, etc., but the basic structure is the same. As a representative example, the configuration will be described.
The central adsorption region 81a is surrounded by a rectangular continuous region wall 811. Inside the region surrounded by the region wall 811, as shown in FIG. A plurality of square lands 812 (details of the lands 812 will be described later) are provided, and a portion of the suction area 81a excluding the area wall 811 and the land 812 is a recess communicating with the workpiece placement surface WS. 813. The area wall 811 and the land 812 are finished to the same height (in the Z direction perpendicular to the paper surface), and their upper end surfaces serve as a workpiece placement surface WS when the workpiece W is sucked and supported.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, which is an XX cross-sectional view of FIG. 5A, the recesses 813 are lower in the Z direction than the region walls 811 and the lands 812, and within the workpiece placement surface WS, It is formed to communicate. The concave portion 813 of the suction area 81a is charged with negative pressure (vacuum) when the work W is sucked, and when the work W is loaded, clean compressed air is blown onto the work suction surface WV to charge the work W. In order to remove the static electricity while removing the static electricity, or to unload the same, the workpiece W is easily introduced from the upper end surface of the area wall 811 and the land 812, so that positive compressed air is introduced into the recess 813. is there.

  Similarly, an atmospheric pressure state is set so that no positive or negative pressure is exerted on the workpiece W. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5B, a positive / negative pressure pipe 814a is guided from the outside through the inside of the work chuck 8 to below the adsorption area 81a, and a positive / negative pressure hole 815 that communicates the positive / negative pressure pipe 814a with the recess 813. Is open at the bottom of the recess 813 so as not to interfere with the land 812.

  Thus, in order to place the concave portion 813 in a negative pressure, positive pressure, or atmospheric pressure state, the distance (recess depth) from the bottom of the concave portion 813 to the workpiece placement surface WS (upper end surface) of the region wall 811 or the land 812 is When the workpiece W is attracted and fixed to the workpiece mounting surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8, it is sufficient that the workpiece W does not come into contact with the bottom of the concave portion 813 due to its elastic deformation, and the workpiece mounting surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 described later. In the case of manufacturing by a photo-etching method or the like, the smaller one is preferable because it reduces the manufacturing cost. Therefore, if these are taken into consideration, about 0.5 to 1.0 mm is preferable.

Next, the positive / negative pressure control device 86 for selectively and independently setting the suction region 81a through the recess 813 to the positive, negative pressure, and atmospheric pressure states will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
In FIG. 8, a negative pressure pipe line 865 for setting a negative pressure in the recess 813 of the adsorption region 81 a includes a vacuum pump 861 that is a negative pressure generation source, a stop valve 862 v that manually opens and closes the negative pressure pipe line 865, and a negative pressure pipe. It is composed of a piping circuit that connects an air regulator 863v that adjusts the pressure or flow rate of the passage 865, and is connected to the input port P1 of the three-position, three-port electromagnetic switching valve 867a.

  On the other hand, the positive pressure pipe line 866 that makes the concave portion 813 of the adsorption region 81a positive pressure is a stop valve 862p that manually opens and closes the positive pressure pipe line 866 from a compressed air source (not shown), and the pressure of the positive pressure pipe line 866. An air regulator 863p for adjusting and a piping circuit connecting a filter 864 for filtering the introduced compressed air cleanly, and this positive pressure piping 866 is the other input port of the 3-position, 3-port electromagnetic switching valve 867a. Pipe connected to P2.

  The output port P3 of the electromagnetic switching valve 867a is connected to a positive / negative pressure pipe 814a for guiding a positive / negative pressure source to the concave portion 813 of the central suction region 81a. The central position of the electromagnetic switching valve 867a is a (spring center) neutral position by the springs S1 and S2, and at this time, the electromagnetic solenoid 869V that is set to the negative pressure position 869 by excitation is similarly electromagnetic that is set to the positive pressure position 870 by excitation. The solenoid 870P is also in an unexcited state, and at this position, both the negative pressure input port P1 and the positive pressure input port P2 are in a blocked state with respect to the output port P3. In this state, the adsorption region 81a can be brought into an atmospheric pressure state (neither positive nor negative pressure state).

  The positive / negative pressure piping 814a is switched to the negative pressure position 869 by excitation of the electromagnetic solenoid 869v of the electromagnetic switching valve 867a (at this time, the electromagnetic solenoid 870p is in the non-excited state). The positive pressure state is switched to the positive pressure position 870 by exciting the electromagnetic solenoid 870p (the electromagnetic solenoid 869v is in a non-excited state at this time). Such excitation, non-excitation, and neutral states of the electromagnetic solenoids 869v and 870p are controlled by a control device 896 to which they are connected.

As described above, the positive / negative pressure state in the central suction region 81a can be controlled.
Similarly to the adsorption area 81a, the electromagnetic switching valves 867b to 867d provided to be connected to the respective positive and negative pressure pipes 814b to 814d are attached to the other adsorption areas 81b to 81d shown in FIG. Based on these commands, the control can be performed so that each of the positive and negative pressures or the atmospheric pressure can be selectively and independently.

  Further, in FIG. 5A, an example in which two positive and negative pressure pipes 814b and 814d are respectively led to the adsorption regions 81b and 81d is shown. However, the number is not limited to these numbers. Regardless of the number of the plurality of positive and negative pressure pipes 814b and 814d, each is integrated as one independent pipe system, and each coupling destination is connected to the output port P3 of the electromagnetic switching valves 867b and 867d, and the control device 896 is connected. Thus, the positive / negative pressure and the atmospheric pressure state of the adsorption regions 81b and 81d may be controlled independently.

  Similarly, two suction areas 81c, which are provided at two positions spaced in the Y direction at the positions symmetrical with respect to the X axis, are provided with two pipes 814C1 and 814C2 whose open ends are closed with a set screw SB. In this example, two positive / negative pressure pipes are integrated into a single positive / negative pressure pipe 814C1 and connected to the output port P3 of the electromagnetic switching valve 867C. Can be controlled.

As described above, since the plurality of adsorption regions are brought into independent positive and negative pressure and atmospheric pressure states, the number of the positive and negative pressure pipes and the piping method are not limited.
Next, the positive / negative pressure of how the suction regions 81a to 81d are used in the positive pressure, negative pressure and atmospheric pressure states by the control device 896 so as not to deform or strain the workpiece W which is the object of the present invention. An example of the control method will be described.

  As described above, the workpiece W is carried from the pre-alignment stage by the fork of the transfer robot, and is placed at a predetermined position on the workpiece placement surface WS (of the workpiece chuck 8). In this state, since the attracting force for fixing the workpiece W has not yet worked, there is a possibility that the mounting position of the workpiece W may be shifted by a slight external force or vibration. In order to prevent this, when the work W is placed, the central suction region 81a is first brought into a negative pressure state, and the work W can be temporarily fixed to the work placement surface WS.

  Next, the work stage 2 is moved to the exposure position by the work stage feed mechanism 7 in the temporarily fixed state. At this time, due to the movement of the large work stage 2, the work stage 2, and hence the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8, is slightly deformed. Therefore, if the work W is sucked on the entire surface at this time, the work W having a lower rigidity than the work chuck 8 is also deformed following this. However, in this embodiment, since only the central suction area 81a is sucked, such deformation of the workpiece W can be prevented.

  At this time, if the workpiece W is charged with static electricity, the peripheral area that is not desired to be attracted is attracted by the static electricity, the surrounding foreign matter is attracted to the workpiece attracting surface WV, or the workpiece is initially covered. If foreign matter adheres to the suction surface WV, when the workpiece W is sucked and fixed on the workpiece placement surface WS due to this foreign matter, it may cause deformation or distortion of the exposed pattern and uneven colors. is there. In order to eliminate such a cause, it is more preferable to perform air blow for removing the charge on the workpiece attracting surface WV and removing dust. However, the work chuck 8 shown in FIG.

  The central suction area 81a is left in a negative pressure (suction) state, and the other suction areas 81b to 81d are set in a positive pressure state in which the pressure, time, etc. are adjusted, and air blow is performed on the work suction surface WV. . As a result, it is possible to prevent the workpiece suction surface WV facing the suction area areas 81b to 81d of the workpiece W from being attracted to the workpiece W by static electricity at this time, and the workpiece suction surface WV can be cleaned. Therefore, it is possible to remove static electricity and dust. At this time, if air blow is performed in a negative pressure state only in the central suction region 81a, if there is a risk of deforming the workpiece W, the suction region 81b is similarly put in a negative pressure state in addition to the suction region 81a. The other suction regions 81c and 81d can be air blown in a positive pressure state as described above.

  Finally, the suction areas 81b to 81d, which have been in a positive pressure state for cleaning or an atmospheric pressure state in which neither positive pressure nor negative pressure is present, are set in a negative pressure state, and the periphery of the work W is set in a suction state. To adsorb. After this, the central suction region 81a is once switched to a positive pressure state, air blow is performed, the central vacuum break is performed, and then the central suction region 81a is switched again to a negative pressure so that the entire surface is suctioned. .

  As described above, when the positive / negative pressure state is controlled in the above order in each suction area on the workpiece mounting surface WS that can be selectively and independently made positive and negative and atmospheric pressure state, the workpiece W is predetermined when moving or the like. There is no deviation from the position. Even if the workpiece W is enlarged, even if the workpiece chuck 8 is slightly deformed during movement, the workpiece W is adsorbed only at the central portion of a relatively small area at this time. The part can avoid the influence of deformation of the work chuck 8 (for example, the influence of the shearing force acting by the adsorption force).

  Then, after the workpiece W is moved to the exposure position or the like, the workpiece W can be prevented from being deformed and distorted if the workpiece W is attracted to the entire surface of the workpiece suction surface WV in a stable state. In particular, as described above, these effects can be further improved by using an air blow together. Further, it can be used so as to clean the entire surface of the workpiece suction surface WV by air blow.

  Next, when the workpiece chuck 8 is moved to the exposure position or the like, even if the deformation of the workpiece W does not become a problem, the workpiece W may be warped or wavy as described above. This may cause uneven color of the exposed pattern. In such a case, a method of adsorbing and fixing the workpiece W to the workpiece placement surface WS while correcting the deformation of the workpiece W will be described using the adsorption areas 81a to 81d in FIG. . When the workpiece W is deformed, the suction regions 81a to 81d are brought into a negative pressure state at a time and fixed by suction, or the suction regions 81c and 81d around the workpiece mounting surface WS are moved from the central suction regions 81a and 81b. If the negative pressure state is first set, the deformation of the workpiece W is changed to be constrained by the workpiece mounting surface WS, and the surface WV of the workpiece W is attracted to the workpiece mounting surface WS that has been finished with good flatness. This makes it difficult to absorb and fix with little deformation.

Therefore, first, only the central suction region 81a is set to a negative pressure state, and the other suction regions 81b to 81d are set to a non-suction state. Next, after the suction region 81b is brought into a negative pressure state, either the suction region 81c or 81d around the workpiece placement surface WS is first brought into a negative pressure state, and finally the remaining suction region is negatively pressured. Negative pressure control.
In this way, while the deformation of the workpiece W is corrected so as to be expelled from the center of the workpiece placement surface toward the peripheral edge 88, the uniform suction is performed by finally learning the workpiece W on the workpiece W placement surface. As a result, the mask pattern P of the mask M does not cause uneven color on the workpiece exposed surface WE, and an accurate pattern can be exposed.

  As described above, the work chuck 8 of the present invention has a plurality of suction areas that can be controlled to positive / negative pressure and atmospheric pressure independently on the work mounting surface WS. Even for large-sized workpieces W that are difficult to work with, the workpiece mounting surface WS is temporarily stopped so that the position of the workpiece W does not shift, and the entire surface of the workpiece suction surface WV of the workpiece W is cleaned. In addition, while the deformation of the workpiece W is further corrected, an operation such as uniform suction finally learned on the workpiece W mounting surface can be performed alone or in combination, and the workpiece suction surface WV of the workpiece W can be set as the workpiece. To prevent deformation and distortion that occur when adsorbing to the mounting surface WS, and to expose a pattern with high accuracy without causing uneven color of the pattern exposed on the exposed surface of the workpiece W. In which it was to be like.

  As described above, in FIG. 5A, the description has been given using the four suction areas provided on the mounting surface WS of the work chuck 8. In view of the point that these plurality of suction areas are provided and the work W is uniformly sucked on the work placement surface WS, it is desirable to provide the work placement surface WS at an axially symmetric position of the X axis or the Y axis. The number is not limited to this, and the number thereof can be appropriately selected according to the size of the workpiece W.

  Next, an example of the region wall 811, the land 812, and the recess 813 constituting the suction region in the work chuck 8 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, the planar shape of the suction region formed by these region walls 811, lands 812, and recesses 813 is collectively referred to as a suction region pattern VP. Further, the land of FIG. 6A has already been briefly described above, but will be described again with another example.

The adsorption region pattern VP shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C in FIG. 6 and FIGS. 7A to 7D in FIG. 7 can be applied to any of the adsorption regions 81a to 81d. The features of the wall 811, the land 812, and the recess 813 are shown, and all are shown in a plan view except for the cross-sectional view of FIG. For convenience, the vicinity of portion A in FIG. 5A is characteristically shown as an example.
In FIG. 6A, square lands 812 are regularly arranged inside the adsorption region surrounded by the region wall 811, and the remaining portion is a recess 813. And as shown to Fig.5 (a), the recessed part 813 is provided with the positive / negative pressure hole 815. As shown in FIG. The shape of the land 812 can uniformly distribute and arrange the area of the workpiece placement surface, and can also increase the placement area. Therefore, the deformation and distortion at the time of adsorption of the workpiece W can be reduced, and the concave portion 813 can be used by milling or the like. Since the region wall 811 and the land 812 can be formed simply by processing, it is advantageous in terms of versatility of processing.

When the circular lands 812 in FIG. 6B have the same size and arrangement distribution, the support area of the workpiece W is smaller than that of the rectangular lands 812 in FIG. Since the land 812 is round when adsorbed, stress concentration on the workpiece W can be avoided, and the internal strain can be alleviated.
Moreover, in FIG.6 (c), it is set as the shape of the land 812 in which the rectangular short side end has circular roundness. For this reason, compared with FIG. 6 (a) and FIG.6 (b), a support area can be enlarged and a stress concentration relaxation effect can be given like FIG.6 (b). When uniformity is required for the arrangement of the lands 812, or when the shape and directionality of the mask pattern P of the mask M and the suction area pattern VP of the workpiece placement surface WS coincide with each other as described later, there is a problem. As shown in (c), the longitudinal direction of the land 812 is not aligned with the Y direction, but an arrangement in various directions can be combined. In the suction region pattern VP of FIGS. 6A to 6C described above, the region wall 811 is surrounded by a continuous straight line, and the portion excluding the land 812 inside this region wall 811 is the workpiece placement surface. The recesses 813 communicate with each other in the WS.

Next, the suction region pattern VP in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B will be described.
In general, the mask pattern P exposed on the exposed surface WE of the workpiece W is often regular and linear. When the mask pattern P and the suction area pattern VP described above are superposed, the work exposure surface WE is caused by the suction strain generated when the work W is sucked and fixed to the work placement surface WS. This may cause a decrease in accuracy of the mask pattern P to be exposed or cause color unevenness. In this FIG. 7 (a) and FIG. 7 (b), paying attention to this point, an adsorption region pattern VP of the work placement surface WS that does not match this adsorption strain with the mask pattern P by the mask M is used. This is to remove the cause of uneven color due to distortion.

  7A and 7B, the suction area pattern VP on the workpiece placement surface WS is not related to the exposure area of the mask pattern P of the mask M (is outside). Only the region wall 811 that is closest to the peripheral edge 88 of FIG. 8 and extends along the peripheral edge 88 is a straight region wall 811S to facilitate processing, but is located inside the region wall 811S, The region wall 811 related to the exposure area is a corrugated region wall 811W. The straight region wall 811S and the corrugated region wall 811W intersect with each other to form a continuous region wall 811.

In addition, the area walls 811 in the adsorption area provided on the inner side of the linear area wall 811S related to the exposure area all form an adsorption area by using only the wave-like continuous area wall 811W (this will be described later). 11A and 11B, these FIGS. 7A and 7B are partial views of the suction region pattern VP and are not shown.
Further, the land 812 in FIG. 7A is provided with a plurality of corrugated lands 812W similar to the corrugated area wall 811W, in a direction in which the linear area wall 811S or the corrugated area wall 811W extends. Similarly to the concave portions 813 of the suction regions 81a to 81d of FIG. 5A described above, the concave portion 813 is provided in the suction region excluding the linear region wall 811S or the corrugated region wall 811W and the corrugated land 812W. It has been.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the linear region wall 811S and the undulating region wall 811W and the upper end surface of the undulating land 812W have the same height, and the recess 813 has a positive pressure, a negative pressure, or an atmospheric pressure. To be controlled. The corrugated land 812W has a small number of positive and negative pressure holes 815 for making the entire concave portion 813 positive, negative, or atmospheric pressure as small as possible. Therefore, the entire corrugated land 812W communicates within the workpiece mounting surface WS without crossing each other. It is preferable to do so.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C described above, the land 812 in FIG. 7A is not the corrugated land 812W. The only difference is that the land 812 other than the corrugated land 812 is applied and the corrugated area walls 811W of the adsorbing areas adjacent to each other are not in contact with each other, and the rest is the same as in FIG. The shape of the regularly arranged lands 812 is omitted, and the positions are schematically shown by dots (dots).

  The corrugated corrugated region wall 811W and corrugated land, which are the features shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, have been described above. The purpose of this shape is the mask pattern exposed to the workpiece W. It is sufficient if P and the suction area pattern VP are different in the exposure effective area, and the pattern is not limited to the continuous corrugated shape but may be a saw-like shape, and the corrugated land 812W2 is the same even in a discontinuous shape. It has the effect of.

Next, among the region walls, at least the region wall 811 and the corrugated region wall 811W at the boundary portion between the adsorbing regions adjacent to each other can be eliminated, and the cross-sectional view of FIG. explain.
In this example, the land 812 is provided with a land concave portion 812a on the upper end surface serving as the mounting surface WS of the work chuck 8, and the land concave portion 812a is similar to the concave portion 813 described in FIGS. 5A and 5B. In this way, a positive / negative pressure type land 812V having a function of bringing the upper end surface of the land into a positive pressure, negative pressure or atmospheric pressure state is obtained. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), only the positive / negative pressure type land 812V can be set to the positive / negative pressure or atmospheric pressure state, so at least the area wall 811 and the corrugated area at the boundary between adjacent adsorbing areas. It is not necessary to provide the wall 811W (can be omitted). Therefore, the mask pattern P and the suction area pattern VP do not overlap. Further, since the work W is uniformly adsorbed and fixed to the work mounting surface WS, such as the arrangement and installation positions of the positive / negative pressure pipes 814a to 814d and the positive / negative pressure holes 815 communicating therewith, the degree of freedom in design is increased. I can do it. Also, the work placement surface WS can be cleaned.

  In the case of using FIG. 7C, since there is no need to have a region wall surrounding each adsorption region, an area in which a group of positive / negative pressure lands 812V controlled to the same positive / negative pressure or atmospheric pressure state is distributed is 1 It shall be defined and controlled as one adsorption area. If an example is shown using Fig.5 (a), the state which has arrange | positioned desired positive / negative pressure type land 812V in each adsorption | suction area | region 81a-81d area in the state which omitted the area | region wall 811 as each adsorption | suction area | region 81a-81d Similarly, by using the positive / negative pressure control device 86 of FIG. 8 described above, these adsorption regions 81a to 81d are selectively and independently controlled to a positive pressure, negative pressure, or atmospheric pressure state. In this way, the area wall 811 along the outermost periphery intended to support the workpiece W can also be omitted.

  Next, in FIG. 7 (d), the positive / negative pressure type land 812V shown in FIG. 7 (c) is combined with the land 812 having no land recess 812a shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c), etc. For example, the example applied to the adsorption | suction area | regions 81a-81d shown to Fig.5 (a) is shown with a typical top view. In this way, since the workpiece W can be attracted only by the positive / negative pressure type land 812V, it is not necessary to provide the region wall 811 and the corrugated region wall 811W at the boundary between the adjacent attracting regions. Similarly, the region wall 811 along the outermost peripheral edge intended to support the workpiece W can be omitted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the mask pattern P and the suction region pattern VP from overlapping. The work W can be attracted and fixed more uniformly on the work placement surface WS, and the work placement surface WS can be cleaned as described above, so that an exposure pattern with less color unevenness can be formed.

Next, the resist relief Rr provided on the peripheral edge 88 of the work chuck 8 in FIG. 5A will be described with reference to FIG. 7E using an example applied to the suction region pattern VP in FIG. 7B. However, this resist escape Rr can be similarly applied to the suction region pattern VP shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, 7A, and 7D.
In FIG. 7B, the linear region wall 811S is k1 in the X direction (left-right direction in the figure) and k2 in the Y direction (up-down direction in the figure) with respect to the peripheral edge 88 of the work chuck 8. It is provided at a position that enters the center side of. FIG. 7E is a front partial view of the resist escape Rr when FIG. 7B, which is a plan view, is viewed from the direction B.

  7E, the resist Re is applied to the exposed surface WE of the workpiece W in the state of being placed on the workpiece placement surface WS. A state in which excess resist Re is accumulated in the resist escape Rr from the exposed surface WE is schematically shown. As described above, the resist relief Rr indicated by the space k1 in the X direction toward the peripheral edge 88 of the region wall 811S (same for k2) and h in the Z direction is provided along the peripheral edge 88. Thus, when the workpiece W is attracted to the workpiece mounting surface WS, excess resist Re applied to the exposure surface of the workpiece W wraps around the back surface of the workpiece W, and the upper end surface of the area wall 811S (the workpiece mounting surface WS). ) And the back surface of the work W (work attracting surface WV), the adhesion between the upper end surface of the area wall 811S and the back surface of the work W is deteriorated due to excess resist Re (unevenness), or the work caused by suction It is possible to prevent W from being deformed.

In addition, it is desirable to slightly chamfer the edge of the region wall 811 and the land 812 of the suction regions 81a to 81d described with reference to FIG.
Further, it is preferable to make the support interval between the lands 812 as small as possible and arrange them uniformly to prevent internal distortion and deformation of the work W when the work W is attracted. Therefore, the supporting area of one land 812 is preferably 20 to 50 mm ² , and the center-to-center pitch is preferably selected in the range of 20 to 60 mm.

Next, a second embodiment according to the work chuck 8 of the present invention will be described with reference to the front view of FIG.
A Z-direction coarse movement device 50 shown in FIG. 9 shown in a front view includes a work stage 2 and a work chuck 8, a Z-direction coarse movement mechanism 540 that moves the work chuck 8 forward and backward in the Z direction with respect to the work stage 2, and a work W Lift pins used when the workpiece W is temporarily placed above the workpiece placement surface WS when the workpiece W is conveyed from the pre-alignment table above the workpiece placement surface WS (upward in the Z direction) of the workpiece chuck 8 by a fork of a conveyance robot or the like. 560 is included. In terms of the relationship with the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the Z-direction coarse movement mechanism 540 that moves back and forth in the Z direction in the Z-direction coarse movement apparatus 50 of FIG. 9 is an alternative to the vertical coarse movement apparatus 61 of FIG. Therefore, when using the Z direction coarse movement apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 9, the vertical coarse movement apparatus 61 and the Z-axis coarse movement stage 62 in FIG. 1 can be omitted.

That is, in FIG. 1, if the vertical fine motion device 63 is directly fixed to the device base 4, and similarly the Z direction coarse motion device 50 of FIG. The remainder can be used in the same relationship as the mechanism and operation of the divided sequential proximity exposure apparatus shown in FIG.
In addition to this, the vertical fine movement device 63 and the Z-axis fine movement stage 64 may be arranged between the Y-axis feed base 72 and the work stage 2.

  9 is used in place of the vertical coarse motion device 61 in FIG. 1 for the work chuck 8 in the Z direction coarse motion device 50 in FIG. 9 for the work chuck of the first embodiment. This is because even if the fork groove 85 is not provided as in FIG. 8, a space corresponding to the fork groove 85 is created in the Z direction so that a space corresponding to the fork groove 85 can be secured. By omitting the fork groove 85, the rigidity of the work chuck 8 can be increased, and since the work placement surface WS can be used more widely, the work W can be uniformly attracted to the work placement surface WS. An advantageous structure that reduces deformation and distortion can be achieved, and color unevenness of the pattern exposed on the workpiece exposed surface WE of the workpiece W can be prevented.

  Further, as a method of dividing the suction area, for example, in FIG. 5A, the fork groove 85 is omitted, and the suction area pattern VP is set such that the suction area 81b and the suction area 81c are adjacent to the suction area 81d. I can do it. Each suction region pattern VP can be, for example, any one of FIGS. 6A to 6C, FIGS. 7A to 7B, and FIG. 7D. In particular, by adopting the adsorption region pattern VP illustrated in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) and FIG. 7 (d) in which the positive / negative pressure type lands 812V in FIG. It is more preferable to suppress the uneven color of the exposure pattern, for example, by omitting the linear area wall 811 at the boundary between adjacent adsorption area walls.

  In FIG. 9, since the work chuck 8, the work stage 2, the work W, the mask M, the work placement surface WS, and the work attracting surface WV are the same as those in the first embodiment, description will be made using the same reference numerals. 9 is arranged in the order of the workpiece stage 2, Z-direction coarse mechanism 540, workpiece chuck 8, workpiece W from the bottom in the Z-axis direction in the Z-axis direction, and the workpiece W is in the proximity exposure position in the Z-direction. It faces the mask M because of the relationship in the previous vertical coarse movement position state. Further, the workpiece W is still shown as being supported by a front chuck 570 (described later) and a lift pin 560 while being separated from the workpiece mounting surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8.

  On the work stage 2, there is provided a Z-direction coarse movement mechanism 540 (a plurality of Z-direction coarse movement mechanisms are also provided in the Y direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 9 but are not shown or described). The mechanism 540 moves the work chuck 8 up and down roughly in the Z direction (in the direction of the arrow) with respect to the work stage 2. The Z-direction coarse movement mechanism 540 is provided with a ball screw 542 extending in the X direction and a bearing box 544 that pivotally supports the ball screw 542 fixed to the work stage 2 at both ends in the X direction (left and right in FIG. 9). . The ball screw 542 is provided with a ball screw groove that is symmetrical with respect to the left and right screws (X direction) from substantially the center in the X direction. Then, nuts 541 having the same relationship between the right and left screw grooves as those of the ball screw 542 are respectively screwed into the left and right symmetrical positions of the right and left screw grooves of the ball screw 542, and each of the nuts 541 has a linear guide. A slider 546 is fixed. For this reason, if the ball screw 542 is rotated clockwise, for example, clockwise by the ball screw drive motor 543 provided on the work stage 2, the sliders 546 fixed to the nut 514 come close to each other in the X direction from the above relationship, and similarly If it is rotated counterclockwise, the slider 546 can be moved in the X direction and away from each other. In this movement, the slider 546 is guided with high accuracy in parallel with the axial direction (X direction) of the ball screw 542 by a guide rail 547 fixed to the work stage 2.

  Next, a link connecting member 531 is fixed to the work chuck 8, and the link connecting member 531 and the slider 546 are pin-connected by a link 530 and a link pin 530a. Therefore, the movement direction and the movement amount of the slider 546 in the X direction can be determined by controlling the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the ball screw drive motor 543 that rotates the ball screw 542 by the control device 896 (shown in FIG. 8). I can do it. When the ball screw 542 is rotated in the direction in which the slider 546 is close to the X direction using this relationship, the work chuck 8 is lowered in the Z direction by the amount of movement corresponding to the rotation speed with respect to the work stage 2. If the ball screw 542 is rotated in the direction away from the X direction, the work chuck 8 can be raised in the Z direction by the amount of movement corresponding to the number of rotations.

When the work chuck 8 moves in the Z direction, a guide rod 521 for moving and guiding the work chuck 8 in the Z-axis direction is fixed to the work stage 2 and is erected in the Z direction.
Further, a counter balance cylinder 550 for smoothly moving the work chuck 8 in the Z direction is provided between the work stage 2 and the work chuck 8 in the Z-axis direction, and the rotation direction and the number of rotations of the ball screw drive motor 543 are adjusted. In synchronization, the work chuck 8 can be advanced and retracted in the Z direction. An air supply source (air) for moving the counterbalance cylinder 550 in the Z-axis direction is an electromagnetic switching valve (not shown) connected to a positive pressure pipe 866 and a control device 896 in the positive / negative pressure control device 86 of FIG. Can be controlled by.

As described above, the Z-direction coarse movement mechanism 540 responds to the increase in the size of the workpiece W so that the workpiece chuck 8, which has increased in weight, can move smoothly in the Z-direction relative to the workpiece stage 2 in a Z-direction. The moving device 50 is provided.
Next, a mechanism for supporting the workpiece W above the workpiece mounting surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 and temporarily holding the workpiece W so as not to shift in the Z-direction coarse movement device 50 will be described.

  The lift pin 560 is inserted and guided in a lift pin hole 561 provided in the work chuck 8 at the upper part in the Z direction, and the lower part is supported and fixed to a lift pin receiving plate 549 fixed to the work stage 2. The gap between the lift pin 560 and the lift pin hole 561 is formed so that the positive / negative pressure state of each suction region provided on the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 is not broken and can be inserted. Alternatively, instead of doing this, a new land 812 having the same height as the land 812 and the region wall 811 (or positive / negative pressure type land 812V) is provided on the work placement surface WS so as to surround the lift pin hole 561, and this land 812 is provided. You may make it insert the lift pin 560 in this. Further, the upper end surface of the lift pin 560 that supports the workpiece attracting surface WV has the same height in the Z direction in order to support the workpiece W horizontally. As shown in FIG. 9, a gap Zf is formed between the workpiece attracting surface WV of the workpiece W and the workpiece placement surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 in the Z-axis direction. This gap Zf can be arbitrarily set in the Z direction by adjusting the lowering position of the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 with respect to the height of the upper end face of the lift pin 560. However, the minimum gap Zf at this time is the time when the workpiece W is placed at a predetermined position (in the XY plane) on the upper end surface of the lift pin 560 from the pre-alignment stage with the fork of the transfer robot, and after that, The gap Zf is such that the fork does not interfere with contact between the workpiece attracting surface WV and the workpiece placement surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 when the workpiece is lowered and retracted. Further, the front chuck 570 shown at the left end (X direction) in FIG. 9 is erected from the work stage 2, and the upper end surface in the Z direction is the same height as the upper end surface of the lift pin 560. Therefore, when the workpiece W is transported from the pre-alignment table by the fork of the transport robot and temporarily placed on the upper end surface of the lift pin 560 (as shown in FIG. 9), the upper end surface of the front chuck 570 is also the workpiece attracting surface. It is designed to support WV. And since the recessed part 570a is connected by the external positive / negative pressure piping 570c and the positive / negative pressure hole 570b at the upper end surface of the front chuck | zipper 570, when the workpiece | work W is temporarily mounted by the upper end surface of the lift pin 560, the workpiece | work W is carried out. Can be fixed so that it does not move. The positive / negative pressure pipe 570c communicating with the recess 570a on the upper end surface of the front chuck 570 can be controlled with, for example, the same pipe as the positive / negative pressure pipe 814a shown in FIG.

Next, an example of the operation of the Z-direction coarse movement device will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 9, the work chuck 8 is in the Z-axis direction retracted position, the work W is transferred from the pre-alignment stage to the upper end surface of the lift pin 560 by the fork, and then placed, and the front chuck 570 controls the positive / negative pressure described above. The suction state is controlled by the control device 896 of the device 86. From this state, the ball screw drive motor 543 of the Z-direction coarse movement mechanism 540 is driven based on a command from the control device 896, and the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 is raised to the ascending end position that contacts the work attracted surface WV. To drive. The subsequent operation and use method are the same as those of the work chuck 8 shown in FIG. The workpiece exposure surface WE is adjusted to the proximity exposure position in the Z direction by the fine movement position adjustment in the Z direction in the same manner by the vertical fine movement device 63 of FIG.

Similarly to the first embodiment, positive / negative pressure pipes 814a to 814d for controlling each suction region to a positive pressure, negative pressure or atmospheric pressure state are led to the work chuck 8.
Next, a work chuck 8 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d) in FIG.
FIG. 10A shows the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 shown in a plan view as in FIG. 5A. The work chuck 8 uses the Z-direction coarse motion device 50 having the lift pins 560 described with reference to FIG.

The suction areas 81a to 81d shown in FIG. 5A of the first embodiment are arranged in the X direction with the suction area 81e in the center in the X direction (left and right direction) and the suction area 81e in FIG. 10A. Two suction regions 81f are shown at the positions symmetrical with respect to the Y axis, and one suction region 81g is shown above the Y direction, for a total of four independent suction regions.
The lift pins 560 described with reference to FIG. 9 are disposed at the positions indicated by black ● in the suction regions 81e to 81g in FIG. Moreover, the area | region wall 811 in the adsorption | suction area | region 81e-81g, the land 812, and the recessed part 813 are positive / negative of FIG. 6 (a)-FIG.6 (c), FIG.7 (a)-FIG.7 (b), FIG.7 (c). The suction region pattern VP illustrated in FIG. 7D in which the pressure-type lands 812 are used alone or appropriately combined can be used similarly. Therefore, in FIG. 10A, the region wall 811, the land 812, and the recess 813 are schematically shown by straight lines, dots, and blank spaces, respectively.

Further, the resist escape Rr provided on the peripheral edge 88 of the work chuck 8 shown in FIG.
The work chuck 8 shown in FIG. 10A has the following characteristics.
The hatched portions in FIG. 10B to FIG. 10D schematically show the plane sizes of the workpieces W having different sizes.

In FIG. 10B, a substantially square work W is made up of a suction area 81e corresponding to the size of the work W, and similarly in FIG. 10C, it is made up of a suction area 81e and two suction areas 81f, and FIG. In (d), it is shown that the workpiece W is sucked by the suction region 81e and the suction region 81g.
Thus, even if the dimensions of the workpiece W and the dimension ratios in the XY direction are different, the workpiece chuck 8 according to the third embodiment has a plurality of suction regions independent of the workpiece mounting surface WS according to the workpiece W. In addition to the features of the work chuck 8 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, versatility can be imparted to the placement of the work W.

  Note that the non-hatched suction region (white portion) in FIGS. 10B to 10D is an unnecessary portion for placing the workpiece W (because it is not necessary to make positive pressure and negative pressure), the first area In the positive / negative pressure control device 86 shown in FIG. 8 of the embodiment, in order to block the positive / negative pressure pipe connected to the unused adsorption region from the negative pressure pipe line 865 and the positive pressure pipe line 866, the corresponding electromagnetic switching valve is provided. The center position should be the spring center. And the positive / negative pressure control of the adsorption | suction area | region of a use part can be controlled so that an air blow, the deformation correction of a workpiece | work W, adsorption | suction, etc. can be performed like 1st Embodiment.

  Further, in the work chuck 8 shown in FIG. 5A, a fork groove 85 is provided for conveying the work W. Instead of providing the fork groove 85, as shown in FIG. By ensuring a space where the lift pin 560 does not exist so that the fork does not interfere with the lift pin 560 from either the position X1 and X2 or the position Y1 and Y2 (see FIG. 9 as well in the Z direction). As above, the fork groove 85 can be omitted. Further, the other arrangement and number of lift pins are not particularly limited. However, in order to uniformly support the workpiece W, it is desirable to arrange the lift pins at an axially symmetric position with respect to the XY axis as shown in FIG.

  In the case of the workpiece W corresponding to the hatching in FIG. 10C or FIG. 10D, as described in the first embodiment, the workpiece W is first placed on the workpiece placement surface WS. Then, only the suction area 81e may be sucked, and after the work chuck 8 is set (just before exposure), the remaining suction area 81f or the suction area 81g may be picked up. Further, the suction area 81e is divided into a plurality of suction areas as in the example of FIG. 5A, and as described in the first embodiment, the central suction area (corresponding to the suction area 81a in FIG. 5A) is obtained. ) Only in the suction area, or air blow may be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

The land 812 in the suction region 81e to the suction region 81 (g) is a wave-like land 812W or the positive / negative pressure type land 812 shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c) and FIG. 7 (c). The adsorption region pattern VP shown in FIG. 7D alone or in combination can be used. It is also possible to apply a resist escape Rr as shown in FIG.
Further, in the work chuck 8 shown in FIG. 10 (a), since the Z-direction coarse motion device 50 of FIG. 9 is used, the fork groove 85 can be omitted, so that the rigidity of the work chuck 8 can be increased. A feature of the structure of the work chuck 8 that hardly causes color unevenness on the exposed surface WE can also be provided.

Next, the work chuck 8 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the plan view of FIG.
The work chuck 8 in FIG. 11 shows an example in which the specific arrangement of the suction area and the suction area pattern VP constituting the suction area are as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). The remainder is the same as the feature described in FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d).

As described above, since the influence of the suction strain caused by the superposition of the suction region pattern VP and the mask pattern P by the mask M in the exposure area can be eliminated, the color unevenness of the exposure pattern exposed to the workpiece W can be eliminated. It is also possible to prevent the occurrence of the above.
First, in the arrangement of the suction area, the suction area 81h and the two suction areas 81i are arranged at the center of the Y axis, respectively, and the suction area 81j is arranged outwardly when viewed in the X direction of the workpiece placement surface WS. , A total of seven suction regions 81a and 81l are arranged in the Y direction. That is, since more suction regions than those shown in FIG. 10A are finely arranged, it is possible to cope with the change by the dimensional change of the workpiece W and the dimensional ratio difference in the XY direction.

In addition, lift pins 560 are arranged at the positions of ■ in each suction area, and the spaces shown by arrows X1 and X2 and Y1 and Y2 where the lift pins 560 are not arranged for inserting a fork as in FIG. 10A. Are provided in two directions, X and Y directions.
Further, the suction area pattern VP that constitutes the suction area of FIGS. 7A and 7B is only the area wall that is closest to the peripheral edge 88 of the work chuck 8 that does not risk overlapping with the pattern of the mask M. The straight region wall 811S is used for easy processing, but the region wall inside the straight region wall 811S on the work placement surface WS is a corrugated region wall 811W. The land in the suction region 81h to the suction region 81l is a wave-like land 812W or the positive / negative pressure type land 812 shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c) and FIG. The use of the suction region pattern VP as shown in FIG. 7D and the provision of the resist relief Rr as shown in FIG. 7E can also be applied in the same manner as the work chuck 8 in FIG.

Next, an example in which the work chuck 8 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is divided in the Z direction or the XY plane as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12B will be described.
As described above, in the work chuck 8 shown in FIGS. 5A, 10A, and 11, a plurality of independent suction regions are provided on the mounting surface WS, and even a large work W is finally deformed. It has been explained that adsorption without distortion can be performed. However, when these workpiece chucks 8 are applied to a large workpiece W, the workpiece mounting surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 increases in size (increases in area) according to the size of the workpiece W, and the weight increases accordingly. When processing the suction area pattern VP on the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8, the handling becomes difficult, which may cause a decrease in accuracy. Even if a part of the workpiece mounting surface WS is damaged or worn due to a breakage accident or the like when the workpiece W is transported or sucked, the entire workpiece chuck 8 must be remanufactured thereby, resulting in cost reduction. Get higher. Also, when repairing by polishing or the like, the entire work chuck 8 that has been enlarged must be removed from the exposure apparatus or reassembled, which requires a lot of time for the work and mimics productivity. I will.

  In order to solve a new problem associated with the increase in the size of the workpiece W in this way, in the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12A, first, the integrated workpiece chuck 8 is further processed in the Z direction. The upper divided chuck 8a and the other base chuck 8b including the workpiece mounting surface WS that require accuracy and are susceptible to damage or the like are divided into the upper base chuck 8b and processed separately. 8a and the base chuck 8b are integrally assembled with fastening means such as removable screws, and have the same structure as the work chuck 8 shown in FIGS. 5 (a), 10 (a), and 11 described above. The purpose can be fulfilled. At this time, in order to keep the work chuck 8 at a constant temperature against heat generated during exposure of the positive and negative pressure pipes 814a to 814d and the work chuck 8 described with reference to FIG. The cooling pipe 814CP and the like are connected to the base chuck 8b from the outside of the work chuck 8.

  Although not shown, the base chuck 8b is provided with a plurality of lift pins 560 as described in FIG. 9, and the upper split chuck 8a is provided with lift pin holes 561 into which the lift pins 560 can be inserted, and springs or the like. The lift pins 560 can be made to advance and retract with respect to the work placement surface WS of the upper divided chuck 8a. Also, the work chuck 8 shown in FIG. 9 is divided into an upper divided chuck 8a and a base chuck 8b as shown in FIG. 12A, and after assembling them integrally, a lift pin hole 561 into which a common lift pin 560 can be inserted is formed in each chuck. You may make it provide.

  When the upper divided chuck 8a is integrally assembled to the base chuck 8b by the above-described detachable fastening means such as a screw, a positive pressure, a negative pressure or an atmospheric pressure is applied to a necessary portion of the upper divided chuck 8a. Further, if the supply source for controlling cooling and the like is communicated, only the upper divided chuck 8a can be easily detached from the base chuck 8b without being troubled by the external connection piping as described above. The maintenance time of the work chuck 8 can be greatly shortened.

  For the same purpose, as shown in FIG. 12 (b), only the upper divided chuck 8a is divided into four parts, and a plurality of upper divided chucks 8a are integrated so that they can be integrally attached to and detached from the base chuck 8b. For example, it can be applied to the upper separation chuck 8a only for the part that requires replacement or maintenance, and as a result, the work chuck 8 can be processed relatively easily and with high accuracy. In addition, the manufacturing and reworking time can be shortened and the throughput can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the structure of the work chuck 8 shown in FIGS. 5A, 10A, and 11, the divided unit of the upper separation chuck 8a corresponds to each suction area. It is equally applicable to doing. Further, in this case, when one suction region is widened, a structure may be provided in which a plurality of upper separation chucks 8a in which the suction region is appropriately subdivided are provided.
Next, as a sixth embodiment of the present invention, an example of a method for forming the suction region pattern VP on the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 will be described. FIG. 13 shows the process sequence when the photo-etching method is applied as the formation method.

  In the suction area pattern VP, a plurality of suction areas are arranged on the workpiece placement surface WS as shown in FIGS. 5A, 10A, and 11, and in this suction area, FIG. a) to 6c, 7a to 7b, 7c and 7c, and the adsorbing area pattern as shown in FIG. VP exists. Such a complex and large-sized plate-like body having the suction region pattern VP uses a divided sequential proximity exposure apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 as used in the present invention, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to manufacture by a photo-etching method which is a process.

  When the suction region pattern VP in the P3 step of FIG. 13 is manufactured by exposure such as a photoetching method, the mask pattern P prepared in advance is taken as an example of the suction region pattern VP on the workpiece placement surface WS of FIG. explain. First, the suction area pattern VP on the workpiece placement surface WS is divided into four equal parts so as to be symmetrical with respect to both axes in the XY plane, and among the suction area patterns VP divided into four equal parts, there is a point symmetry position relationship 2. A mask M having a mask pattern P to be a sheet (two types) of suction region patterns VP is prepared. That is, these two types of mask patterns P are obtained when the center on the plane of the workpiece placement surface WS in FIG. 5A and the coordinate origin in the XY rectangular coordinates coincide with each other. This is the relationship between the adsorption region pattern VP in the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant. Then, the mask M having these two types of mask patterns P is placed on the mask stage 1 in FIG. 1, and the work placement surface WS of the work chuck 8 that is an object to be exposed is brought close to and opposed to the mask M, and relatively. If the proximity exposure is repeated by moving in the X, Y or θ direction, the entire pattern of the suction region pattern VP in FIG. 5A can be manufactured by exposure (on the workpiece placement surface WS). At this time, as shown in FIG. 12B, in the case of the upper divided chuck 8a in which the workpiece mounting surface WS is already divided into four equal parts on the XY plane, the upper divided chuck 8a at this point symmetrical position is replaced with the above-described two types of masks M. Since it is sufficient to make two each, the suction region pattern VP can be manufactured very easily and efficiently. In this way, two types of masks M are prepared in advance, and the photoetching process is advanced according to FIG.

  In the step P1 of FIG. 13, first, the workpiece placement surface WS is degreased, cleaned and dried to clean it. And a resist is apply | coated to a workpiece | work mounting surface WS with a roller or a brush in P2 process. In the P3 process, after the resist is dried, the mask pattern P of the two types of masks M is exposed to the corresponding part of the workpiece mounting surface WS using the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. Make a pattern.

  In the P4 step, the exposed suction region pattern VP is developed to prepare a region to be etched in the next P5 step. In the etching in the P5 process, the concentration of the etching solution, the etching time, and the like are adjusted so that the depth of the concave portion 813 is about 0.5 to 1 mm as described in the first embodiment. In the P6 process, the photosensitive pattern obtained by the exposure in the previous exposure process P3 is peeled off, and in the P7 process, the workpiece placement surface WS is cleaned and dried. The final surface finishing of the workpiece placement surface WS is a step of performing surface grinding finishing as necessary so that the workpiece adsorption surface WV and the workpiece placement surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 are attracted to each other.

In this way, the workpiece mounting surface WS of the workpiece chuck 8 having a complicated suction region pattern VP can be easily processed.
As the resist agent and the chemical agent used for these, known ones can be used as appropriate according to the material of the work chuck 8, and the description thereof is omitted here. 5A, FIG. 10A, and FIG. 11 can be processed by using a drill or the like before or after the photoetching step, such as the positive / negative pressure hole 815 and the lift pin hole 561. good.

Further, the resist escape Rr described with reference to FIG. 7E can be similarly applied to the work chuck 8 of any embodiment of the present invention.
Similarly, if the work chuck 8 described above is provided separately so as to be mounted and fixed on the work stage 2, the size of the work W also changes when the work chuck 8 is processed. In this case, it is preferable because only the work chuck 8 can be changed and used, and the degree of freedom of handling is increased. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For the purpose of reducing the weight and the structure and function of the work chuck 8 described above, the work stage 2 may be provided directly and the work stage 2 and the work chuck 8 may be integrated.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a divided sequential proximity exposure apparatus as a good example in which the work chuck of the present invention is used. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the mask stage portion of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a workpiece W (1000 mm × 1200 mm) having nine chamfered 18-inch color display materials DP. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a mask used in the step exposure of FIG. FIG. 5A is a plan view showing a work placement surface of the work chuck according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the work placement surface of the work chuck in the XX cross section of FIG. FIG. 6A is a plan view showing an example of the suction area pattern shape in the suction area of the workpiece placement surface showing the vicinity of portion A as a representative example in FIG. FIG. 6B is a plan view showing another example of the suction region pattern shape in the suction region of the workpiece placement surface showing the vicinity of the portion A as a representative example in FIG. FIG. 6C is a plan view showing another example of the suction area pattern shape in the suction area of the workpiece placement surface showing the vicinity of the portion A as a representative example in FIG. Fig.7 (a) is a top view which shows the other example of the adsorption | suction area | region pattern shape in the adsorption | suction area | region of the workpiece | work mounting surface which shows the A vicinity vicinity as a typical example in Fig.5 (a). FIG. 7B is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement when the lands shown in FIG. 7A are arranged with the lands shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C. FIG.7 (c) is sectional drawing which shows the positive / negative pressure type land which is another example of the land applicable also to Fig.5 (a). FIG. 7D is a plan view showing another example of the suction area pattern shape in the suction area of the work placement surface showing the vicinity of portion A as a representative example in FIG. FIG. 7E is a front view in the direction of arrow B showing the resist relief provided along the peripheral edge of the work chuck as an example in which the suction region pattern of FIG. 7B is applied. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a positive / negative pressure control device that controls the suction area of the work chuck shown in FIG. 5A to a positive pressure, negative pressure, and atmospheric pressure state. FIG. 9 is a front view of a Z-direction coarse movement device according to the Z-direction coarse movement of the work chuck, which is a second embodiment of the exposure apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 10A is a plan view showing a work placement surface of the work chuck according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10B to FIG. 10D are schematic views showing usage examples of the suction area on the workpiece placement surface of FIG. 10A according to the size of the workpiece. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a work placement surface of a work chuck according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12A is a front view of a split type work chuck according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12B is a plan view showing an example in which the upper divided chuck is divided into four equal parts on the workpiece mounting surface in FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process sequence of a photo-etching method as an example of a method for forming a placement surface pattern on the workpiece placement surface of the work chuck of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a plan view of a suction holding device which is a conventional work chuck.

Explanation of symbols

W ... Work M ... Mask P ... Mask pattern WE ... Work exposure surface VP ... Work chuck suction area pattern WS ... Work chuck work placement surface WV ... Work suction surface 1 ... Mask stage 2 ... Work stage 3 ... Illumination Optical system (irradiation means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Work stage feed mechanism 8 ... Work chuck 8a ... Upper part division chuck 8b ... Base chuck 50 ... Z direction coarse movement apparatus 81a-81l ... Suction area 811 ... Area wall 812 ... Land 813 ... Recess 814a-814d ... Positive / negative pressure piping 815 ... Positive / negative pressure hole 85 ... Fork groove 86 ... Positive / negative pressure control devices 867a to 867d ... Electromagnetic switching valve 896: Control device

Claims (13)

A mask having a pattern to be exposed on the exposure surface of the workpiece by receiving light from the irradiation means for pattern exposure to the workpiece, and holding the workpiece as an exposed material disposed opposite to the mask, relative to the mask In a work chuck in which the position of the mask is exposed on the work by changing the position facing the
The work chuck is provided with a plurality of suction areas on the work placement surface of the work chuck, a land for supporting the work inside the suction area, and a recess in a portion excluding the land. A work chuck comprising a positive / negative pressure control device that selectively controls a suction and non-adsorption state.   2. The work chuck according to claim 1, wherein the suction region is provided in an axially symmetric position with respect to at least one of the central axes orthogonal to each other in the work placement surface of the work chuck.   The work chuck is provided in an axially symmetrical position with respect to at least one of the orthogonal central axes within the work placement surface of the work chuck, and is perpendicular to the work placement surface of the work chuck. The work chuck according to claim 1, further comprising lift pins that advance and retreat at the same height.   4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the positive / negative pressure control device controls the suction state of the plurality of suction regions to be selectively changed between the exposure time and the non-exposure time. 5. The work chuck described.   5. The workpiece according to claim 1, wherein the positive / negative pressure control device selectively controls the plurality of adsorption regions to any one of a positive pressure, a negative pressure, and an atmospheric pressure state. Chuck.   The work chuck is divided in a direction perpendicular to the work placement surface into an upper divided chuck that constitutes the placement surface and a base chuck that supports the upper divided chuck, and the upper divided work chuck and the base chuck are attached and detached. 6. The work chuck according to claim 1, wherein the work chuck is integrated with possible fastening means.   The work chuck according to claim 6, wherein an upper divided chuck of the work chuck is divided into a plurality of parts within the work placement surface.   The plurality of suction regions are surrounded by a region wall having the same height as the land, and among the region walls, a region wall at a boundary between adjacent suction regions is a planar shape on the placement surface 8. The work chuck according to claim 1, wherein the work chuck is formed in a wave shape.   The land of the work chuck is characterized in that a planar shape on the work placement surface is one of square, rectangle, circle, ellipse, corrugation, or a combination of two or more thereof. The work chuck according to claim 1.   The workpiece mounting surface of the land in the workpiece chuck has a concave portion that is selectively controlled to any one of a positive pressure, a negative pressure, and an atmospheric pressure state. Crab workpiece chuck.   The work chuck according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the work chuck has an escape recess that is lower than a height of the region wall along a peripheral edge of the work chuck. A mask having a pattern to be exposed on the exposure surface of the workpiece by receiving light from the irradiation means for pattern exposure to the workpiece, and holding the workpiece as an exposed material disposed opposite to the mask, relative to the mask In the work chuck control method in which the position facing the surface is changed and the pattern of the mask is exposed on the work,
A plurality of suction areas are provided on the work placement surface of the work chuck, a land for supporting the work is provided inside the suction area, and a recess is provided in the suction area except for the area wall and the land. A method for controlling a work chuck, wherein the suction region is selectively controlled to a suction and non-suction state.   The work chuck control method according to claim 12, wherein the suction states of the plurality of suction regions are all in a suction state only when the exposure is performed.

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