JP2007220987A - Retainer of plane board - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retainer capable of retaining a plane board such as a large-sized mask, or a plane mirror or the like used for an exposure device or the like while preventing self-weight deflection. <P>SOLUTION: The retainer consists of a plurality of rod-like retaining members retaining a plane board 6. A part of the above-mentioned retaining member contacting with the plane board 6 is constituted in a plane. The above-mentioned retaining member is constituted from a first retaining member 2 supported at one location with respect to the base 4 of the retainer in a state in which yawing, rolling, and pitching movements are permitted. A second retaining member 3 is supported at two locations with respect to the base 4 of the retainer in such a way that the pitching and the yawing are regulated in a state in which the rolling and an expansion can be actuated toward a direction in which the second retaining member extends. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a holding member for a flat plate, for example, a holding member for holding a mask or a flat mirror used in an exposure apparatus or the like.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of an exposure apparatus according to the prior art.
As shown in the figure, this exposure apparatus is roughly divided into a light irradiation unit 110 that emits exposure light, a mask stage unit 120 that holds a mask on which a pattern is formed, and a work to be exposed. And a work stage unit 130.

The light irradiation unit 110 includes a lamp 111 that emits exposure light, a condensing mirror 112 that reflects and collects light from the lamp 111, and an integrator 113 (flyer) that uniformizes the illuminance distribution of the exposure light on the irradiated surface. (Also referred to as an eye lens), a plane mirror 114 for folding the optical path of exposure light (three are used here), a stage base 115 and a support 116 for supporting the plane mirror 114, a collimator 117 for making the exposure light parallel light, and the like are provided. Then, exposure light is emitted from the light exit port 118.
A mask 121 (sometimes called a reticle) in which a pattern such as a circuit is formed on the light exit side of the light exit port 118 is held and fixed to the mask stage 122 in the mask stage unit 120. In the figure, the mask 121 is attached to the upper surface side of the mask stage 122, but may be attached to the lower surface side.
On the work stage unit 130, a work 131 such as a printed circuit board or a wafer on which a photosensitive agent is applied or pasted is held on the work stage 132.

  The mask stage unit 120 and / or the work stage unit 130 are provided with a mask stage moving mechanism 123 and / or a work stage moving mechanism 133, and the mask 121 and / or the work 131 are moved in the XYθ direction (the mask 121 and / or the work 131). Alignment is performed so that the mask 121 and the workpiece 131 are in a predetermined positional relationship by moving in two directions perpendicular to the plane and a rotation direction about an axis perpendicular to the plane.

After the alignment of the mask 121 and the workpiece 131 is completed, the workpiece stage 132 is moved in the Z direction orthogonal to the plane by the workpiece stage moving mechanism 133, and the mask 121 and the workpiece 131 are set at a predetermined interval.
Thereafter, exposure light is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 110 to the work 131 coated with the photosensitive agent via the mask 121, and the mask pattern is exposed and transferred. The exposed work 131 is unloaded from the work stage 132, and the work 131 to be processed next is loaded.

In the above description, the exposure apparatus has been described as an example. However, in the bonding process of the liquid crystal panel, only the region where the photo-curing adhesive is applied is irradiated through the mask in which the light shielding portion is formed. And the apparatus similar to the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 5 is used also for the apparatus which hardens an adhesive agent and bonds two panels.
In that case, the workpiece is a glass panel substrate coated with an adhesive in accordance with the outline of the panel to be formed, and the mask is such that the adhesive is irradiated with light and the liquid crystal and the like are shielded from light. A pattern is formed. The light irradiated from the light irradiation unit is light having a wavelength for curing the photocurable adhesive. Many photocurable adhesives are cured by ultraviolet rays, and light containing ultraviolet rays of 200 nm to 400 nm is used.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a configuration of a mask stage according to the prior art used in the exposure apparatus and the like shown in FIG.
The mask stage 140 mainly includes a stage base 142 that holds the mask 141, and the stage base 142 in the XYθ direction (two directions orthogonal to each other in the plane of the mask 141 and a rotational direction around an axis orthogonal to the plane). Further, in some cases, the stage moving mechanism 143 is also configured to move in the Z direction (direction orthogonal to the plane of the mask 141).
The stage base 142 is provided with an opening 144 through which light (exposure light / ultraviolet light) irradiated to the workpiece through the mask 141 passes. Further, a vacuum suction groove 145 for holding the mask 141 is formed around the opening 144, and the mask 141 is held and fixed to the stage base 142 by sucking the periphery of the mask 141.
Since the mask 141 is sucked and held on the stage base 142 over the entire circumference, the flatness of the stage base 142 needs to be processed with high accuracy. If the flatness of the stage base 142 is poor, the exposure accuracy and the light irradiation accuracy are deteriorated, for example, the pattern transferred to the workpiece is distorted and the position where the light is irradiated is shifted.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-186124 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-335204

  By the way, workpieces to be exposed (for example, printed circuit boards) and liquid crystal panels for bonding are becoming larger year by year. For example, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel to be bonded has come out with a side exceeding 2 m. As the workpiece becomes larger, the area to which light (exposure light / ultraviolet rays) is irradiated becomes wider, so that the mask becomes larger. As the mask becomes larger, the stage base of the mask stage that holds the mask also becomes larger.

  The large stage base 142 having the opening 144 as shown in FIG. 6 is difficult to process with good flatness. It is originally difficult to planarize a member having the opening 144, and if the opening 144 is provided after the planarization, warping or distortion occurs during the processing of providing the opening 144, and the mask 141 is manufactured with high planar accuracy. Nevertheless, warping and distortion occur due to being held by the stage base 142.

As a countermeasure, instead of the method of sucking and holding the entire circumference of the mask 141 by the stage base 142, as shown in FIG. 7, a support body 146 is set on the stage base 142 and the mask 141 is supported at three points. Can be considered. Since the mask 141 is basically a flat plate, if it is supported at three points, it should ideally be a flat surface.
However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the mask 141 is large, when it is supported only at three points, deflection due to its own weight occurs in a portion where the mask 141 is not supported. When the mask 141 is deflected, the mask pattern is distorted and projected onto the work, so that the exposure accuracy decreases.

  In the above description, problems with the mask and the mask stage have been described. However, in the light irradiation unit 110 of the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the same problem occurs in supporting the plane mirror 114 for turning back the optical path. When deflection occurs in the plane mirror 114, the reflected light beam spreads or narrows, and parallel light cannot be obtained. If parallel light cannot be obtained, for example, in an exposure apparatus that exposes the mask 121 and the work 131 in proximity, the mask pattern is distorted and projected onto the work 131, so that the exposure accuracy is lowered.

  An object of the present invention is to hold a flat plate such as a large mask or a plane mirror used in an exposure apparatus or the like while preventing a deflection of its own weight without using a stage that is difficult to process and difficult to obtain a plane accuracy. To provide a body.

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The first means is a holding body comprising a plurality of rod-shaped holding members for holding a flat plate, and the holding member is configured to have a flat portion in contact with the flat plate, and the holding member includes yawing, rolling and In a state where the pitching movement is allowed, the first holding member supported at one place with respect to the base of the holding body and the pitching in a state where the rolling and the second holding member can be expanded in the extending direction. And a second holding member that is supported at two locations with respect to the base of the holding body with the yawing being regulated.
The second means is a holding body composed of a plurality of rod-shaped holding members that hold a flat plate, wherein the holding member is formed in a plane in contact with the flat plate, and the holding member includes a ball and a receiving member. A first holding member supported at one place with respect to the base of the holding body by the support, and a support with the ball and the receiver at two places with respect to the base of the holding body at the two positions, And a second holding member that is supported in an expandable state in a direction in which the two holding members extend.
The third means includes, in the first means or the second means, in addition to the first holding member and the second holding member, another rod-like holding member that holds the flat plate, The other holding member is a holding body characterized in that a portion in contact with the flat plate is formed in a plane and is supported by a spring or an air cylinder with respect to the base of the holding body.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to hold a flat plate such as a large mask or a plane mirror used in an exposure apparatus or the like while preventing its own deflection.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to hold a flat plate such as a large mask or a plane mirror used in an exposure apparatus or the like while preventing its own deflection. Further, by supporting the first holding member at one place by the support with the relationship between the ball and the receiver, the first holding member can be supported at one place in a state where yawing, rolling and pitching movement are allowed. Also, pitching and yawing are regulated by supporting the second holding member at two locations by the support in a relationship between the ball and the receiver and in a state in which the second holding member can be expanded in the extending direction of the second holding member. It can be supported at two locations, and can cope with expansion and contraction due to thermal changes in the longitudinal direction.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first and second holding members are appropriately combined with the first and second holding members according to the shape and size of the flat plate to be held. A portion that cannot be held by the member can be supplemented.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a holding body according to the invention of this embodiment.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a holding body for holding a flat plate such as a square mask 6 in an exposure apparatus or the like, 2 denotes a first holding member for holding one side of the mask 6, 21 denotes a support, 22 and 23 denote push springs, 3 Is a second holding member that holds one side opposite to the one side of the mask 6, 31 and 32 are support columns, 33 is a push spring, 4 is a stage base, 5 is an opening, and 6 is a mask.
In this figure, the left-right direction in the plane of the mask 6 is the X axis, the direction perpendicular to the X axis is the Y axis, and the direction perpendicular to the mask 6 plane is the Z axis. Is called rolling R, rotation around the Y axis is called pitching P, and rotation around the Z axis is called yawing Y.

As shown in the figure, the mask 6 includes a rod-shaped first holding member 2 and a second holding member in which portions corresponding to two opposite sides of the four sides of the mask 6 are processed into a flat surface. 3 is held.
As shown in FIG. 2 to be described later, vacuum suction grooves 25 and 37 are formed on the surfaces of the first and second holding members 2 and 3, and the vacuum is applied to hold the mask 6 placed thereon. . The first and second holding members 2 and 3 are both mounted on a stage base 4 provided with an opening 5 so that light that has passed through the mask 6 passes.
The first holding member 2 is supported at one point by the column 21 so that the yawing Y, rolling R, and pitching P are allowed to move with respect to the stage base 4.
On the other hand, the second holding member 3 is supported at two points by the columns 31 and 32 so that only the movement of the rolling R is allowed with respect to the stage base 4 and the movement of the yawing Y and the pitching P is restricted. The

  Further, when the first and second holding members 2 and 3 are long and a deflection occurs due to their own weight, the first and second holding members 2 and 3 are lifted so as to eliminate the self-weight deflection in a portion other than the column 21 supporting the first holding member 2. The push springs 22 and 23 are provided, and a push spring 33 that lifts the self-weight deflection at portions other than the columns 31 and 32 that support the second holding member 3 is provided. An air cylinder may be used instead of the push spring.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view or a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the first holding member 2 and the second holding member 3.
FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a configuration related to the first holding member 2, and the first holding member 2 is held by a single support 21 via a spherical bearing 24, and the X axis, The movement in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions is restricted and supported in a state where movement of yawing Y, rolling R, and pitching P is allowed. In addition, instead of the spherical bearing 24, as shown in FIG. 2B, a support column 21 having a ball 27 provided at a sharpened tip is inserted into a conical hole 26 formed in the first holding member 2. You may comprise as follows. However, a device for preventing the first holding member 2 from lifting in the Z direction is necessary.

  FIG. 2 (c) is a diagram showing a configuration relating to the second holding member 3, and the second holding member 3 is supported at two points by the two support columns 31 and 32. One support column 32 supports the second holding member 3 via the spherical bearing 34, and the other support column 31 has the second holding member 3 moved in the longitudinal direction of the second holding member 3 due to thermal change. In consideration of expansion and contraction in the direction in which the second holding member 3 extends, a V-groove 35 is formed along the longitudinal direction in a part of the second holding member 3, The second holding member 3 is held by inserting a column 31 provided with a ball 36 at the sharpened tip. With this configuration, the second holding member 3 can move in the rolling R and expand in the direction in which the second holding member 3 extends, but the movement of the yawing Y and the pitching P and the X axis The movement in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions is supported in a restricted state.

  FIG. 2D is a diagram showing another configuration of the second holding member 3. One of the support columns 32 may be constituted by a ball 38 and a conical hole 39 as in the case of the first holding member 2 instead of the spherical bearing 34. Further, the other support column 31 may have a spline structure using the shaft 40 and the bush 41 instead of the configuration of the V groove 35 and the ball 36 in consideration of the expansion and contraction in the longitudinal direction of the second holding member 3. . In this case, a shaft 40 extending along the longitudinal direction of the second holding member 3 is provided, and a bush 41 provided at the tip of the column 31 is attached to the shaft 40.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is adopted as the configuration related to the first and second holding members 2 and 3, and the first holding member 2 and the second holding member 3 are used as the holding frame. When the mask 6 is placed thereon, the first and second holding members 2 and 3 adsorb the mask 6 along the plane of the mask 6 manufactured with high plane accuracy. Accordingly, the mask 6 is held without deflection by its own weight by the first and second holding members 2 and 3 extending in the X direction. The position of the mask 6 is determined by the movement of the yawing Y and the pitching P by the second support member 3 and the movement of the rolling R by the mask 6 itself.

  In the holding body according to the invention of the present embodiment, when the deflection in the Y-axis direction of the held mask 6 is small enough not to cause a problem, as described above, the first and second two holding members 2, 3 is sufficient. However, when the mask 6 is very large and the deflection occurs in the Y-axis direction, it is necessary to provide rod-shaped third and fourth holding members that hold the remaining two sides of the mask 6 to form a holding frame.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the configuration of the holding body according to the invention of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration related to the third or fourth holding members 7 and 8.
In these drawings, 7 is a third holding member for holding one side of the mask 6, 71, 72, 73 are pressing springs, 8 is a fourth holding member for holding one side opposite to the one side of the mask 6, 81 , 82, 83 are push springs. The other configurations correspond to the configurations with the same reference numerals shown in FIG.

As shown in these drawings, the surfaces of the third and fourth holding members 7 and 8 are processed into a flat surface in the same manner as the first and second holding members 2 and 3, and the vacuum suction grooves 74 and 84 are formed. The formed mask 6 is sucked and held by vacuum. The third and fourth holding members 7 and 8 are not held by the support but are supported only by the plurality of push springs 71 to 73 and 81 to 83 with respect to the stage base. The spring constants of the push springs 71 to 73 and 81 to 83 are determined so as to be one plane when the third and fourth holding members 7 and 8 are attracted to the mask 6. It is also possible to use an air cylinder instead of the push spring.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the mask 6 is held by the first and second holding members 2 and 3 and is held by the third and fourth holding members 7 and 8. The third and fourth holding members extending in the Y-axis direction are held along the plane of the mask 6 manufactured with high plane accuracy so that the self-weight deflection in the Y-axis direction is eliminated.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, the holding body that holds the mask 6 used in the exposure apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plane mirror used in the exposure apparatus. It can also be applied to a holder that holds a flat plate such as a reflector used in a light irradiator.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a holding body that holds the flat plate according to the invention of the present embodiment.
FIG. 4A shows that when the flat plate 9 has a triangular shape, the first holding member 10 supported by one column is vertically arranged and the second holding member 11 supported by two columns is arranged horizontally. It is a top view which shows the example which hold | maintains the flat board 9 combining in T shape.
FIG. 4B shows two sides in which the first holding member 13 and the second holding member 14 are combined in an L shape when the flat plate 12 has a different triangular shape from the flat plate 9 shown in FIG. Is a plan view showing an example in which the remaining one side is supported by a third holding member 15 supported by a not-shown push spring or air cylinder.
As described above, the first holding members 10 and 13 and the second holding members 11 and 14 are not only arranged in parallel to face each other, but also according to the shape and size of the flat plates 9 and 12 to be held. The third holding member 15 is also provided so as to compensate for a portion that cannot be held by the first and second holding members 13 and 14.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the holding body which concerns on invention of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view or a perspective view showing a detailed configuration relating to a first holding member 2 and a second holding member 3. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the holding body which concerns on invention of 2nd Embodiment, and sectional drawing which shows the structure which concerns on the 3rd or 4th holding member. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the holding body holding the plane board which concerns on invention of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the exposure apparatus which concerns on a prior art. It is a figure which shows the structure of the mask stage based on the prior art used for the exposure apparatus etc. which are shown in FIG. When the mask 141 is large, it is a figure for demonstrating that the deflection | deviation by a self-weight arises in the part which is not supported of the mask 141 in support of only 3 points | pieces.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holding body 2 1st holding member 21 Support | pillar 22,23 Push spring 24 Spherical bearing 25 Vacuum suction groove 26 Conical hole 27 Ball 3 2nd holding member 31,32 Support | pillar 33 Push spring 34 Spherical bearing 35 V groove 36 Ball 37 Vacuum suction groove 38 Ball 39 Conical hole 40 Shaft 41 Push 4 Stage base 5 Opening 6 Mask 7 Third holding member 71, 72, 73 Press spring 8 Fourth holding member 81, 82, 83 Press spring 9 Flat plate 10 First 1 holding member 11 second holding member 12 flat plate 13 first holding member 14 second holding member 15 third holding member

Claims (3)

  In the holding body composed of a plurality of rod-like holding members for holding the flat plate, the holding member is configured to have a flat portion in contact with the flat plate, and the holding member is allowed to move yawing, rolling and pitching. In this state, pitching and yawing are regulated in a state in which the first holding member supported at one place with respect to the base of the holding body and the expansion in the direction in which the rolling and the second holding member extend are possible. And a second holding member supported at two locations with respect to the base of the holding body.   In the holding body composed of a plurality of rod-like holding members for holding the flat plate, the holding member is formed in a flat portion in contact with the flat plate, and the holding member is held by a support column in a relationship between the ball and the receiver. The first holding member supported at one place with respect to the base of the body and the ball and the receiver are supported at two places with respect to the base of the holding body by the support, and the second holding member extends. And a second holding member that is supported in an expandable state in a direction. In addition to the first holding member and the second holding member, there is another rod-like holding member that holds the flat plate, and the other holding member is configured to have a flat portion in contact with the flat plate. The holder according to claim 1, wherein the holder is supported by a spring or an air cylinder with respect to the base of the holder.

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