JP2007322806A - Substrate holding mechanism of exposure device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate holding mechanism of an exposure device that can reliably prevent generation of a moire pattern on a substrate as well as can hold a substrate in any size. <P>SOLUTION: The mechanism includes a plurality of projections 32 having a substrate mount face 33 to mount a substrate W, a suction hole 34 formed in at least one of the projections 32 and opened in the substrate mount face 33, and a base portion 31 where the projections 32 are formed, wherein the substrate mount faces 33 of the projections 32 are laid in an identical horizontal plane. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus that holds a substrate on which a mask pattern of a mask is exposed and transferred.

  For products such as color filters, a substrate coated with a photosensitive material is held on the work chuck (substrate holding mechanism) of the exposure apparatus, and the mask pattern drawn on the mask is exposed through the mask from the upper surface side of the substrate. Produced by exposure transfer. Accordingly, since the exposure accuracy of the mask pattern is greatly affected, the holding state of the substrate by the work chuck is important.

  The substrate mounting surface of the conventional work chuck has a plurality of linear chuck walls partitioned corresponding to substrates of different sizes, and the substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting surface for the chuck corresponding to the substrate. Vacuum the inside of the wall. The chuck wall formed at the portion corresponding to the outer edge of the substrate extends linearly along the outer edge of the substrate, and passes through the substrate and is reflected by the mounting surface (back halation) and surface temperature. The unevenness caused by the distribution or the like includes a linear pattern along the outer edge of the substrate. Such a linear pattern gives a periodic change to the line width of the pattern of the color filter formed on the substrate, and there is a possibility of forming a moire pattern.

  As a technique for preventing the formation of such a moire pattern, there has been proposed a work chuck for an exposure apparatus that prevents the occurrence of a moire pattern by forming the chuck wall in a wave shape along the outer edge of the substrate. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-319876 A

  However, in the work chuck of the exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the occurrence of moire patterns is reduced by making the chuck wall portion corrugated, but the chuck wall portion is disposed along the outer edge of the substrate. Therefore, a moire pattern may occur on the substrate, and there is room for further improvement. In addition, since the wave-shaped chuck wall is formed in accordance with several types of substrates having a predetermined size, it was not possible to hold a substrate of an arbitrary size.

  The present invention has been made to eliminate such inconveniences, and an object of the present invention is to reliably prevent the generation of moire patterns on the substrate and to hold a substrate of any size. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus that can perform the above-described process.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution.
(1) A substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus that holds a substrate to which a mask pattern of a mask is exposed and transferred, and includes a plurality of protrusions having a substrate placement surface on which a substrate is placed, and at least of the plurality of protrusions A suction hole that is formed in one and is opened to the substrate mounting surface; and a base portion on which a plurality of protrusions are provided, and the substrate mounting surfaces of the plurality of protrusions are arranged in the same horizontal plane. A substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus characterized by the above.
(2) The substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus according to (1), wherein the protrusions are arranged in a lattice pattern.
(3) The substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the shape of the substrate mounting surface of the protrusion is circular.
(4) A vacuum pump that sucks air from the suction holes, and is arranged between the suction holes and the vacuum pump. The suction holes and the vacuum pumps are individually provided or a predetermined number of suction holes and vacuum pumps are grouped. A substrate holding mechanism for an exposure apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the substrate holding mechanism is provided with a connection device connected to the exposure apparatus.

  According to the substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of protrusions having a substrate placement surface on which a substrate is placed and at least one of the plurality of protrusions are formed and opened to the substrate placement surface. And a base portion on which a plurality of protrusions are provided, and the substrate mounting surfaces of the plurality of protrusions are arranged in the same horizontal plane. There is no need to provide it. Thereby, it is possible to surely prevent the moire pattern from being generated on the substrate, and to hold a substrate of an arbitrary size. In addition, since the substrate mounting position with respect to the substrate mounting surface can be freely set, the operability and productivity of the exposure apparatus can be improved.

  In addition, according to the substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus of the present invention, since the protrusions are arranged in a lattice pattern, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a moire pattern on the substrate, and a substrate of an arbitrary size. Can be held.

  Further, according to the substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus of the present invention, since the shape of the substrate mounting surface of the protrusion is circular, the influence of the light passing through the substrate and reflected by the base, the distribution of the surface temperature, etc. Since it can be diffused, the generation of moire patterns on the substrate can be reliably prevented.

  Further, according to the substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the vacuum pump for sucking air from the suction hole, and the suction hole and the vacuum pump are disposed separately, or Since the connection device that connects the predetermined number of suction holes and the vacuum pump for each group is provided, suction holes at arbitrary positions can be sucked by the vacuum pump according to the substrate size. As a result, a substrate of any size can be attracted and held at any position on the substrate mounting surface, so that the operability and productivity of the exposure apparatus can be greatly improved.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front view for explaining an exposure apparatus equipped with a substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the work chuck shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the work chuck in which the protrusions are irregularly arranged, and FIG. 6 is a view of the work chuck in which the protrusions are concentrically arranged. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a work chuck having protrusions arranged radially, and FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a modification of the protrusions.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the exposure apparatus PE of this embodiment includes a mask stage 10 that holds a mask M, a substrate stage 20 that holds a glass substrate (exposed material) W, and irradiation for pattern exposure. Illumination device 13 as means, substrate stage moving mechanism 40 for moving substrate stage 20 in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions and adjusting the tilt of substrate stage 20, mask stage 10 and substrate stage moving mechanism 40 And a stage base 50 for supporting the above.

  Note that a glass substrate W (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate W”) is disposed to face the mask M, and a surface (on the opposite surface side of the mask M) for exposing and transferring a mask pattern drawn on the mask M. ) Is coated with a photosensitive agent.

  The mask stage 10 includes a mask stage base 11 having a rectangular opening 11a formed at the center, and a mask holding frame 12 that is mounted on the opening 11a of the mask stage base 11 so as to be movable in the X axis, Y axis, and θ directions. And comprising.

  The mask stage base 11 is supported by a column 51 standing on the stage base 50 and a Z-axis moving device 52 provided at the upper end of the column 51 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction, and is disposed above the substrate stage 20. Is done. The Z-axis moving device 52 includes, for example, an electric actuator including a motor and a ball screw, a pneumatic cylinder, or the like, and moves the mask stage 10 up and down to a predetermined position by performing a simple vertical movement.

  A chuck portion 14 that holds the mask M is attached to the lower surface of the mask holding frame 12. The chuck portion 14 is provided with a plurality of suction nozzles (not shown) for sucking the peripheral portion of the mask M on which the mask pattern is not drawn. The mask M is vacuum-sucked via the suction nozzle. It is detachably held on the chuck portion 14 by the apparatus. The mask holding frame 12 is moved in the X axis, Y axis, and θ directions by a mask position adjusting mechanism (not shown) provided on the mask stage base 11.

  The illumination device 13 is disposed above the opening 11a of the mask stage base 11, and includes, for example, a high-pressure mercury lamp, a concave mirror, an optical integrator, a plane mirror, a spherical mirror, and a shutter for exposure control, which are ultraviolet light sources. Configured. Then, the light irradiated from the high-pressure mercury lamp is irradiated as parallel light for pattern exposure onto the surface of the substrate W held on the substrate stage 20 through the mask M held on the mask stage 10. Thereby, the mask pattern of the mask M is exposed and transferred onto the substrate W.

  The substrate stage 20 is installed on a substrate stage moving mechanism 40. The substrate stage moving mechanism 40 includes a Y-axis table 41, a Y-axis feeding mechanism 42, an X-axis table 43, an X-axis feeding mechanism 44, and a Z−. A tilt adjustment mechanism 45 is provided to drive the substrate stage 20 in the X and Y directions with respect to the stage base 50, and to adjust the gap between the mask M and the substrate W to Z. Finely tilt and tilt in the axial direction.

  The Y-axis feed mechanism 42 includes a linear guide 46 and a Y-axis feed drive mechanism 47 between the stage base 50 and the Y-axis table 41. The linear guide 46 is attached to two guide rails 46a arranged in parallel along the Y-axis direction on the stage base 50 and the back surface of the Y-axis table 41, and the guide rail 46a is provided with a rolling element (not shown). And a slider 46b straddled across.

  The Y-axis feed drive mechanism 47 is attached to the motor 47a installed on the stage base 50, the ball screw shaft 47b rotated by the motor 47a, and the back surface of the Y-axis table 41, and is screwed to the ball screw shaft 47b. A ball screw nut 47c. The Y-axis table 41 is moved along the Y-axis direction along the two guide rails 46a by rotationally driving the ball screw shaft 47b by the motor 47a.

  The X-axis feed mechanism 44 also includes a linear guide 48 and an X-axis feed drive mechanism 49 between the Y-axis table 41 and the X-axis table 43. The linear guide 48 is attached to two guide rails 48a arranged in parallel along the X-axis direction on the Y-axis table 41 and the back surface of the X-axis table 43. A rolling element (not shown) is attached to the guide rail 48a. And a slider 48b straddled through.

  The X-axis feed drive mechanism 49 is attached to the motor 49a installed on the Y-axis table 41, the ball screw shaft 49b rotated by the motor 49a, and the back surface of the X-axis table 43, and is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 49b. A ball screw nut 49c to be joined. The X-axis table 43 is moved along the X-axis direction along the two guide rails 48a by rotationally driving the ball screw shaft 49b by the motor 49a.

  The Z-tilt adjustment mechanism 45 includes a motor 45a installed on the X-axis table 43, a ball screw shaft 45b driven to rotate by the motor 45a, and a wedge formed in a wedge shape and screwed into the ball screw shaft 45b. And a wedge portion 45d that protrudes in a wedge shape on the lower surface of the substrate stage 20 and engages with the inclined surface of the wedge nut 45c. In this embodiment, two Z-tilt adjustment mechanisms 45 are provided on one end side (right side in FIG. 2) in the X-axis direction of the X-axis table 43 and one on the other end side (left side in FIG. 2). Three units are installed and each is independently driven and controlled. The number of Z-tilt adjustment mechanisms 45 installed is arbitrary.

  In the Z-tilt adjustment mechanism 45, when the ball screw shaft 45b is rotationally driven by the motor 45a, the wedge-shaped nut 45c is horizontally moved in the X-axis direction, and this horizontal movement is performed by the wedge-shaped nut 45c and the wedge portion 45d. The wedge portion 45d is finely moved in the Z direction by being converted into a highly precise vertical fine movement by the slope action. Accordingly, by driving the three Z-tilt adjustment mechanisms 45 by the same amount, the substrate stage 20 can be finely moved in the Z-axis direction, and the three Z-tilt adjustment mechanisms 45 can be individually and independently The tilt adjustment of the substrate stage 20 can be performed. As a result, the position of the substrate stage 20 in the Z-axis and tilt directions can be finely adjusted so that the mask M and the substrate W face each other at a predetermined interval.

  In the present embodiment, a work chuck (substrate holding mechanism) 30 for holding the substrate W is provided on the upper surface of the substrate stage 20. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the work chuck 30 includes a plate-shaped member work chuck base (base) 31 installed on the upper surface of the substrate stage 20 and a lattice extending over the entire upper surface of the work chuck base 31. , And projecting portions 32, 32,.

  The protrusion 32 has a cylindrical shape and is formed integrally with the work chuck base 31. A substrate placement surface 33 on which the substrate W is placed is formed on the upper surface of the protrusion 32. In addition, a suction hole 34 that opens to the substrate placement surface 33 of the protrusion 32 is formed at the center of the protrusion 32. Further, the substrate placement surface 33 of the protrusion 32 is disposed on the same horizontal plane. That is, the substrate placement surfaces 33 of all the protrusions 32 have the same height, and the parallelism and flatness are set to be the same. In the present embodiment, the drawing is simplified for easy understanding of the structure. Specifically, the protrusion 32 has an outer diameter of 10 to 15 mm, a height of 0.5 to 1.0 mm, The arrangement interval is 20 to 30 mm, and the inner diameter of the suction hole 34 is about 5 mm. Further, the suction holes 34 may not be formed in all the protrusions 32.

  A vacuum pump 36 is connected to the suction hole 34 via a pipe 35, and a connection device 37 is connected between the suction hole 34 and the vacuum pump 36. The connection device 37 includes a valve device (not shown), and connects the suction holes 34 and the vacuum pumps 36 individually or a predetermined number of suction holes 34 and the vacuum pumps 36 for each group. The vacuum pump 36 sucks air from the suction holes 34 connected to the vacuum pump 36 by the connecting device 37, and vacuum-sucks and holds the substrate W placed on the substrate placement surface 33 of the protrusion 32. To do.

  In the work chuck 30 configured as described above, the substrate W is placed on the substrate placement surface 33 of the protrusion 32 of the work chuck 30, and the suction hole 34 of the arbitrary protrusion 32 located inside the outer edge of the substrate W. Then, air is sucked by the vacuum pump 36 to hold the substrate W on the work chuck 30 by suction. At this time, it is preferable that the suction order of the suction holes 34 is sequentially suctioned from the center side of the substrate W to the outside, so that the substrate W can be sucked and held on the work chuck 30 with high planar accuracy.

  According to the substrate holding mechanism 30 of the exposure apparatus PE of the present embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 32 having the substrate mounting surface 33 on which the substrate W is mounted and the plurality of protrusions 32 are formed on the substrate mounting surface, respectively. Since a suction hole 34 opened in the surface 33 and a base 31 provided with a plurality of projections 32 are provided, and the substrate placement surfaces 33 of the plurality of projections 32 are arranged in the same horizontal plane, It is not necessary to provide a chuck wall in the substrate holding mechanism. Thereby, it is possible to surely prevent the moiré pattern from being generated on the substrate W and to hold the substrate W of an arbitrary size. Moreover, since the mounting position of the substrate W with respect to the substrate mounting surface 33 can be freely set, the operability and productivity of the exposure apparatus PE can be improved.

  In addition, according to the substrate holding mechanism 30 of the exposure apparatus PE of the present embodiment, since the protrusions 32 are arranged in a lattice pattern, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a moire pattern on the substrate W, and A substrate W of any size can be held.

  Further, according to the substrate holding mechanism 30 of the exposure apparatus PE of the present embodiment, since the shape of the substrate mounting surface 33 of the protrusion 32 is circular, the light or surface that passes through the substrate W and is reflected by the base portion 31. Since the influence of temperature distribution or the like can be diffused, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of moire patterns on the substrate W.

  Further, according to the substrate holding mechanism 30 of the exposure apparatus PE of the present embodiment, the vacuum pump 36 that sucks air from the suction hole 34, and the suction hole 34 is disposed between the suction hole 34 and the vacuum pump 36. Since the vacuum pump 36 is provided individually, or a connection device 37 that connects the predetermined number of suction holes 34 and the vacuum pump 36 for each group is provided, the suction holes 34 at arbitrary positions are vacuum pumped according to the substrate size. 36 can be aspirated. Thereby, the substrate W having an arbitrary size can be sucked and held at an arbitrary position on the substrate mounting surface 33, so that the operability and productivity of the exposure apparatus PE can be greatly improved.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably.
For example, in the present embodiment, the protrusions 32 are arranged in a lattice shape, but the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the protrusions 32 are arranged irregularly, concentrically, radially, and the like. Also good.
Moreover, in this embodiment, although the projection part 32 and the suction hole 34 are formed in planar view circular shape, as shown in FIG. 8, square, a rhombus, etc. may be sufficient as shown in FIG.
Further, the size of the protrusion 32 and the suction hole 34 can be appropriately changed depending on the size, thickness, shape, etc. of the substrate W. For example, the protrusion 32 and the suction hole 34 positioned at the center of the substrate W are enlarged, and the protrusion 32 and the suction hole 34 disposed around the substrate W are reduced to prevent the deformation of the substrate W at the time of suction. May be.

It is a front view for demonstrating the exposure apparatus carrying the substrate holding mechanism of the exposure apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side view of the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. It is a top view of the work chuck | zipper shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. It is a top view of the work chuck | zipper in which the projection part was irregularly arranged. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a work chuck in which protrusions are arranged concentrically. It is a top view of the work chuck | zipper in which the projection part was arranged radially. It is a top view which shows the modification of a projection part.

Explanation of symbols

PE exposure apparatus M mask W substrate 10 mask stage 11 mask stage base 11a opening 12 mask holding frame 13 illumination device 14 chuck unit 20 substrate stage 30 work chuck (substrate holding mechanism)
31 Work chuck base (base)
32 Projection 33 Substrate Placement Surface 34 Suction Hole 35 Piping 36 Vacuum Pump 37 Connection Device 40 Substrate Stage Moving Mechanism 50 Stage Base

Claims (4)

A substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus that holds a substrate on which a mask pattern of an exposure mask is transferred,
A plurality of projections having a substrate placement surface on which the substrate is placed; a suction hole formed in at least one of the plurality of projections and opened to the substrate placement surface; and the plurality of projections A base provided with,
The substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus, wherein the substrate mounting surfaces of the plurality of protrusions are arranged in the same horizontal plane.   2. The substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are arranged in a grid pattern.   3. The substrate holding mechanism of an exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate mounting surface of the protrusion has a circular shape.   A vacuum pump that sucks air from the suction holes, and is disposed between the suction holes and the vacuum pump. The suction holes and the vacuum pumps are individually or a predetermined number of the suction holes and the vacuum pumps. A substrate holding mechanism for an exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a connection device that connects to each other in groups.

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