JP2007203302A - Working device for substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a working device for a substrate, in which the time required for aligning the substrate to be worked is reduced and which works the substrate with excellent working efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The working device 10 comprises: a supporting table 11, on which the substrate 30 having positioning marks 30a thereon, is placed; a working means 13, which works the substrate; detecting means 16, which detect the positions of the positioning marks; a movable means 12, which moves the supporting table; and a control means 10a, which controls the position of the supporting table with respect to the working means. Recognizing means are set in the supporting table. The control means controls the position of the substrate to be worked with respect to the working means, by controlling the position of the supporting plate while corresponding to the position of the substrate to be worked with respect to the supporting table, which position is detected by the detecting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed placed on a holding table.

  In a processing apparatus that processes a substrate to be processed, such as a laser processing apparatus (laser annealing apparatus), it is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the processing position, and the relative position between the processing means (laser irradiation unit) and the substrate to be processed is accurate. Need to control.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a laser processing apparatus which is an example of a conventional substrate processing apparatus. Referring to FIG. 5, a laser processing apparatus 100 shown in this drawing includes a holding base 101 on which a substrate to be processed 300 is placed, and a processing means for processing the substrate to be processed 300, for example, a laser irradiation unit. 103.

  Laser beam is supplied to the processing means 103 from an oscillation unit 105 that oscillates a laser through a laser supply line 104. The processing means 103 has a structure in which a necessary optical process is performed on the supplied laser beam, and the target substrate 300 is irradiated with the laser beam 103A to perform laser processing (for example, laser annealing). Yes.

  The holding table 101 is provided with a movable means 102, and the holding table 101 is arranged in the X direction which is one of the directions parallel to the substrate to be processed and the X direction which is parallel to the substrate to be processed. It is possible to operate in the Y direction (not shown) that is orthogonal.

  In processing the substrate to be processed 300, it is necessary to accurately control the position of the substrate to be processed 300 with respect to the processing means 103. For example, in the case of the substrate processing apparatus 100 described above, a positioning mark 300 a is formed on the substrate to be processed 300. Further, on the holding table 101, a detecting means 106 made of, for example, a CCD camera for detecting the position of the positioning mark 300a is installed.

  The substrate to be processed 300 is transferred by, for example, the transfer robot 200 and placed on the holding table 101. Thereafter, before the substrate to be processed 300 is processed, the movable table 102 first operates the holding table 101 in the X direction or the Y direction, and the detection unit 106 detects the position of the positioning mark 300a. Therefore, the position where the substrate to be processed 300 is placed on the holding table 101 is confirmed, and so-called alignment operation is performed.

Next, the holding table 101 is operated by the movable means 102, the substrate to be processed 300 is moved to a position necessary for processing, and the processing substrate 106 is processed by the processing means 106. ing.
Japanese Patent No. 3023320

  However, in order to perform the above-described alignment operation, it takes time to operate the holding table, and the processing time may be reduced due to a longer substrate processing time.

  In particular, when a plurality of the above-described positioning marks are detected, the time during which the holding table is operated for alignment is further increased, resulting in a problem that processing efficiency further decreases.

  Further, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 3023320), in order to improve the accuracy of alignment, a method is proposed in which alignment is performed by transmitting light from the substrate by irradiating light from below the substrate to be processed. Yes. However, there is no specific method or suggestion for solving the problem that takes time for alignment as described above.

  Therefore, in the present invention, it is a general object to provide a new and useful substrate processing apparatus that solves the above-described problems.

  A specific problem of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which the alignment time of a substrate to be processed is short and the processing efficiency of substrate processing is good.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems by a holding table on which a substrate to be processed on which a positioning mark is formed is placed, a processing unit that processes the substrate to be processed, and a detecting unit that detects the position of the positioning mark. A substrate processing apparatus having movable means for moving the holding table and control means for controlling the position of the holding table with respect to the processing means, wherein the detection means is installed on the holding table, and the control means Is configured to control the position of the substrate to be processed with respect to the processing means by controlling the position of the substrate to be processed corresponding to the position of the substrate to be processed with respect to the holding table detected by the detecting means. This is solved by the substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the substrate processing apparatus with which the alignment time of a to-be-processed substrate is short and the processing efficiency of substrate processing is favorable.

  Further, when the processing means is a laser irradiation means, laser processing can be performed efficiently.

  The detection means may include a CCD camera or a CMOS camera.

  Further, if a lens for facilitating the recognition of the positioning mark is provided between the detecting means and the substrate to be processed, the positioning mark detection accuracy is improved.

  Further, if the detection means is installed so as to be embedded in the holding table, the detection means can be installed in a space-saving manner.

  Further, when the substrate to be processed is made of a light-transmitting material and the positioning mark is formed on a processed surface of the substrate to be processed, the positioning mark is detected by the detecting means from the holding stand side. Easy to do.

  Moreover, if the illumination means for facilitating the recognition of the positioning mark is embedded in the holding table, the positioning mark detection accuracy is good.

  Further, when a plurality of the detection means are installed, the alignment accuracy of the substrate to be processed becomes good.

  Further, if the filter for limiting the wavelength of light incident on the detection means is installed on the holding table, the detection accuracy of the positioning mark becomes good.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the substrate processing apparatus with which the alignment time of a to-be-processed substrate is short and the processing efficiency of substrate processing is favorable.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a laser processing apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, a laser processing apparatus 10 shown in this figure includes a holder 11 on which a substrate 30 to be processed is placed, and a processing means for processing the substrate 30 to be processed, such as a laser irradiation unit. 13.

  Laser beam is supplied to the processing means 13 from the oscillation unit 15 that oscillates the laser through the laser supply line 14. The processing means 13 has a structure in which a necessary optical process is performed on the supplied laser light, and the target substrate 30 is irradiated with the laser light 13A to perform laser processing (for example, laser annealing). Yes.

  For example, as an example of laser processing, it is possible to perform processing for crystallizing amorphous silicon (α-Si) formed on a substrate into polycrystalline silicon (Poly-Si). Such processing is used, for example, for processing a channel region of a TFT (thin film transistor) used in a switching circuit of a display device.

  The holding table 11 is provided with movable means 12, and the holding table 11 is arranged in the X direction which is one of the directions parallel to the substrate to be processed and the X direction which is parallel to the substrate to be processed. It is possible to operate in the Y direction (not shown) that is orthogonal.

  In processing the substrate to be processed 30, it is necessary to accurately control the position of the substrate to be processed 30 with respect to the processing means 13. For example, when a substrate to be processed is supplied to the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate to be processed 30 is transferred by the transfer robot 20 having a transfer arm and placed on the holding table 11.

  For example, when the display device is formed, the size of the substrate to be processed is a rectangular or square glass substrate with a side of several meters, and the accuracy of conveyance by the conveyance robot (variation in the conveyance position) is about several millimeters. is there. The accuracy of the above-mentioned conveyance is insufficient for fine processing such as TFT. Therefore, the conventional substrate processing apparatus requires a so-called alignment operation of the substrate to be processed, which causes a problem of reducing the processing efficiency.

  Therefore, in the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the detection means 16 for detecting the position of the substrate to be processed 30 placed on the holding table 11 by the transfer robot 20 is provided on the holding table 11 side. .

  The holding table 11 has a plurality of openings 11 </ b> A corresponding to the plurality of positioning marks 30 a formed on the substrate to be processed 30. Detection means 16 capable of detecting an image, such as a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, is provided so as to be embedded in the plurality of openings 11A. The detection means 16 detects a positioning mark 30a formed on the substrate to be processed 30, and a position where the substrate to be processed 30 is placed on the holding table 11 (the holding table 11 and the substrate to be processed). 30 relative positional relationships) are detected with high accuracy.

  The substrate to be processed 30 has a processing surface (front surface) 30A on which laser processing is performed and a transport surface (back surface) 30B opposite to the processing surface 30A and facing the holding table 11, The positioning mark 30a is formed on the processed surface 30A. When the positioning mark 30a is formed, it is generally formed on the processed surface 30A and is easy to form.

  For example, in the case of laser processing of a display device, the substrate to be processed 30 is usually made of a light transmissive material such as a glass substrate. Therefore, the detection means 16 installed so as to be embedded in the holding table 11 can detect (recognize) the positioning mark 30a from the transport surface 30B side.

  The movable means 12 according to the present embodiment corresponds to the position of the substrate to be processed 30 with respect to the holding table 11 (relative positional relationship between the holding table 11 and the substrate to be processed 30). It is possible to control the position of the substrate 30 to be processed with respect to the processing means 13.

  The movable unit 12 includes a driving unit such as a stepping motor, and is configured to be able to accurately control the positional relationship between the processing unit 13 and the holding table 11 in advance. The movable means 12 may be called an XY table, for example.

  The movable means 12 is controlled by the control means 10A. The control means 10A is connected to the movable means 12 and the detection means 16 via an interface. The control means 10A includes a position detection means 10a, a storage unit 10b, and a position control means 10c.

  The position detection unit 10 a calculates the position of the substrate to be processed 30 with respect to the holding table 11 based on the image information transmitted from the detection unit 16. The storage unit 10b stores a positional relationship between the processing unit 13 and the holding table 11 when the holding table 11 is operated by a driving unit such as a stepping motor. The position control means 10c includes information on the position of the substrate to be processed 30 with respect to the holding base 11 calculated by the position detecting means 10a, and positions of the processing means 13 and the holding base 11 stored in the storage unit. The amount of movement of the holding table 12 is calculated from the related information, and the movable means 12 is controlled.

  For this reason, in the substrate processing apparatus 10 described above, the step of operating the holding table for alignment, which is required in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, is shortened, and substantially no alignment time is required.

  For example, when the substrate 30 is placed on the holding table 11 by the transfer robot 20, the holding table 11 is moved to the transfer robot 20 side. After the substrate to be processed 30 is placed on the holding table 11, the movable table 12 moves the holding table 11, and the relative positional relationship between the processing unit 13 and the substrate to be processed 30 is changed. It is controlled so as to achieve the required positional relationship. In this case, as described above, the relative positional relationship between the processing means 13 and the substrate to be processed 30 is the same as the relative positional relationship between the holding base 11 and the substrate to be processed 30 (conveyance deviation or the like). It has become compatible.

  That is, the series of operations of the movable means 12 does not require a step of moving the holding table 11 for alignment. For this reason, the substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment has a feature that the alignment time of the substrate to be processed is short (substantially substantially 0) and the processing efficiency of the substrate processing is good.

  Next, an example of a plan view of the substrate to be processed 30 processed by the substrate processing apparatus is shown in FIG. However, in the figure, the same reference numerals are given to the parts described above, and the description will be omitted.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the positioning mark 30 a described above is formed on the processed surface 30 </ b> A of the substrate to be processed 30. The alignment accuracy is improved by forming a plurality of the positioning marks 30a. For example, four positioning marks 30a are formed at four corners of the substrate to be processed 30, and in this case, four detection means 16 are embedded in the holding table 11 corresponding to the positioning marks 30a.

  Further, the number of the positioning marks 30a and the positions to be formed are not limited to the case shown in FIG. 2, and may be variously changed. Further, the shape of the positioning mark shown in the figure is an example, and various other shapes can be used.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of a part of the holding table 11 in which the detecting means 16 is embedded. However, in the figure, the same reference numerals are given to the parts described above, and the description will be omitted.

  Referring to FIG. 3, as described above, the detection means 16 made of, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera is embedded in the opening 11 </ b> A formed in the holding table 11, for example, in a substantially cylindrical shape. It can be seen that it is installed.

  Further, since the detection means 16 is installed so as to be embedded in the holding table 11, the distance between the positioning mark and the detection means is close, and the alignment accuracy is improved.

  Further, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to secure a space for installing the detection means on the substrate to be processed or to secure a space for routing the wiring extending from the detection means. It becomes simple and it is possible to install the apparatus in a space-saving manner.

  FIG. 4 is a modification of the above substrate processing apparatus. However, in the figure, the same reference numerals are given to the parts described above, and the description will be omitted. Further, parts that are not particularly described are the same as those described above with reference to FIGS.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the substrate processing apparatus shown in the figure includes a lens for facilitating recognition of the positioning mark 30a between the detection means 16 and the substrate to be processed 30. For this reason, it becomes possible to adjust the focus when the detection means 16 detects the positioning mark 30a, and the positioning accuracy is improved.

  An opening 11B is formed so as to be adjacent to the opening 11A, and an illumination means 19 made of a light emitting element (for example, LED) is embedded in the opening 11B. For this reason, the positioning mark 30a can be easily recognized and the positioning accuracy is improved.

  Furthermore, a filter 18 for limiting the wavelength of light incident on the detection means 16 may be provided on the holding table 11. In this case, the detection accuracy of the detection means can be further improved by using a filter corresponding to the wavelength of the detection sensitivity of the detection means 16.

  In this case, the filter may be configured to limit the wavelength of light emitted from the illumination unit 19.

  As described above, various optical changes may be applied to the light incident on the detection means 16 so that the detection accuracy (alignment accuracy) becomes better.

  In the above embodiments, the laser processing apparatus (laser annealing apparatus) that mainly processes the substrate when forming the display device has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, the present invention can be applied to various apparatuses that perform processing by moving a holding base with respect to a processing means, such as a laser processing apparatus that processes a via hole when forming a wiring board, and other mechanical processing apparatuses. Clearly it is possible.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the substrate processing apparatus with which the alignment time of a to-be-processed substrate is short and the processing efficiency of substrate processing is favorable.

It is a figure which shows the processing apparatus by Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the to-be-processed substrate processed with the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view (part 1) of the apparatus of FIG. 2; It is a modification of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conventional board | substrate processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate processing apparatus 10A Control apparatus 10a Position detection means 10b Memory | storage part 10c Position control means 11 Holding stand 11A Opening part 12 Movable means 13 Processing means 14 Laser supply line 15 Oscillation part 16 Detection means 17 Lens 18 Filter 19 Illumination 20 Transport robot 30 Substrate to be processed 30A Processing surface 30B Transport surface 30a Positioning mark

Claims (9)

A holding table on which a substrate to be processed on which a positioning mark is formed is placed;
Processing means for processing the substrate to be processed;
Detecting means for detecting a position of the positioning mark;
Movable means for moving the holding table;
Control means for controlling the position of the holding table relative to the processing means, and a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
The detection means is installed on the holding table,
The control unit controls the position of the substrate to be processed with respect to the processing unit by controlling the position of the substrate to be processed corresponding to the position of the substrate to be processed with respect to the holding table detected by the detection unit. It is comprised so that the board | substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is a laser irradiation unit.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes a CCD camera or a CMOS camera.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a lens for facilitating recognition of the positioning mark between the detection unit and the substrate to be processed.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is installed so as to be embedded in the holding table.   6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the substrate to be processed is made of a light transmissive material, and the positioning mark is formed on a processing surface of the substrate to be processed.   7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein illumination means for facilitating recognition of the positioning mark is embedded in the holding table.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the detection units are installed.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a filter that limits a wavelength of light incident on the detection unit is installed on the holding table.

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