JP2008064969A - Laser repair apparatus and laser repair method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser repair apparatus for effectively and stably applying laser repair to a defective portion of a member to be worked, and a laser repair method. <P>SOLUTION: There is provided the laser repair apparatus including; a movable stage where a member to be irradiated is mounted; a laser oscillation section which emits a laser beam; a first attenuator which is provided so as to transmit the energy of the emitted laser beam; a second attenuator which is provided so as to transmit the energy of the emitted laser beam; a switching means which can switch a first optical path for extracting the laser beam via at least one of the first and second attenuators and a second optical path for extracting the laser beam without via the at least one of the first and second attenuators; an optical means which guides the laser beam via the first and second optical paths to the member to be irradiated; and a controller which controls the switching means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser repair device and a laser repair method, and more particularly to a laser repair device and a laser repair method for repairing a defect in a liquid crystal display device.

  Liquid crystal display devices are used in various home appliances and information terminal devices such as televisions, personal computers and mobile phones. In recent years, the defect rate has increased in the manufacturing process of an active matrix type liquid crystal display device with an increase in screen size and resolution. For example, when a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) malfunction or a pixel electrode or alignment film arrangement failure occurs, a “bright spot defect” may occur in a portion where transmitted light is not blocked. Such bright spot defects degrade the display quality of the liquid crystal display device. It is also known that among various defects that occur in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device, the incidence of bright spot defects is the highest. However, it is technically very difficult to mass-produce liquid crystal display devices without generating defective pixels such as bright spot defects.

Therefore, liquid crystals that irradiate such defective pixels with laser light to locally evaporate liquid crystals to form bubbles, disperse the alignment film into the bubbles, disturb the alignment, and darken the bright spot defects. A laser repair device for a display device is disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1). When bubbles are formed to facilitate scattering of the alignment film, the alignment property of the alignment film can be sufficiently disturbed, and the transmittance of the bright spot defect portion can be reduced. However, in the prior art, consideration is not given to the timing of irradiation with laser light and switching of irradiation energy, and it has been impossible to efficiently repair bright spot defects.
JP-A-5-313167

  The present invention provides a laser repair device and a laser repair method for effectively and stably repairing defects in a liquid crystal display device.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a movable stage on which an irradiated member is placed, a laser oscillation unit that emits laser light, and a first laser beam that can transmit energy of the emitted laser light. An attenuator, a second attenuator provided so that the energy of the emitted laser light can be transmitted, and a first optical path for extracting the laser light via at least one of the first and second attenuators A switching means capable of switching between a second optical path for extracting the laser light without passing through at least one of the first and second attenuators, and the laser via the first and second optical paths. There is provided a laser repair apparatus comprising optical means for guiding light to the irradiated member and a control unit for controlling the switching means.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a first attenuator for attenuating the energy of the laser light, a second attenuator for attenuating the energy of the laser light with a higher attenuation than the first attenuator, Irradiating the irradiated portion of the liquid crystal display device with laser light via at least one of the first and second attenuators, and then performing at least one of the first and second attenuators. And a step of irradiating the irradiated portion of the liquid crystal display device with a laser beam that does not pass therethrough.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the laser repair apparatus and laser repair method for carrying out laser repair of the defect of a liquid crystal display device effectively and stably are provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a first specific example of a laser repair apparatus according to this embodiment. Here, FIG. 1A shows a state in which a laser beam with high irradiation energy is irradiated, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which a laser beam with low irradiation energy is irradiated.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a laser repair device of a comparative example. Here, FIG. 2A represents a state in which laser light with high irradiation energy is irradiated, and FIG. 2B represents a state in which laser light with low irradiation energy is irradiated. Here, high irradiation energy or low irradiation energy refers to the energy state of laser light when irradiated from a laser repair device.

First, the comparative example of FIG. 2 will be described.
The attenuator 6 serving as the energy control means of this comparative example includes a polarizer 75 and a polarizing plate 80, and the polarizer 75 and the polarizing plate 80 are disposed on the optical path of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 45. The polarizer 75 is disposed between the laser oscillator 45 and the polarizing plate 80. That is, the laser light L emitted from the laser oscillator 45 passes through the polarizer 75 and the polarizing plate 80 in this order and is emitted from the attenuator 6. The polarizer 75 has a role of splitting the laser light L, which is linearly polarized light, into a P wave and an S wave and transmitting only a specific polarization component. Thereby, the transmission amount of the laser beam can be controlled in the polarization plane direction. The polarizing plate 80 has a role of transmitting either the P wave or the S wave. The polarizing plate 80 can be rotated by a motor (not shown). The attenuator 6 has a role of adjusting the irradiation energy of the laser light by aligning the polarization direction of the polarizing plate 80 with the polarization direction of the polarizer 75 or by shifting the polarization direction by several degrees to several tens degrees, for example. The operation time of the polarizing plate 80 is, for example, about 100 milliseconds.

  When the high-energy laser beam L1 is irradiated from the attenuator 6, as shown in FIG. 2A, the polarization direction of the polarizer 75 and the polarization direction of the polarizing plate 80 are substantially matched. If it does in this way, the P wave or S wave which passed the polarizer 75 will not be shielded, but the laser beam L1 of high irradiation energy can be irradiated.

  Further, when the low-energy laser beam L2 is irradiated from the attenuator 6, as shown in FIG. 2B, the polarizing plate 80 is rotated and the polarization direction of the polarizing plate 80 is shifted with respect to the polarization direction of the polarizer 75. . Thereby, since a part of laser beam L is shielded, the laser beam L2 with low irradiation energy can be irradiated.

  Here, in the attenuator 6 of this comparative example, when switching the laser beam irradiation energy, the laser beam irradiation is stopped for several hundred milliseconds. Then, it takes about several hundred milliseconds to set the laser beam irradiation energy to a desired value. For this reason, the laser beam irradiation is intermittent, which causes a problem that the laser repair is defective or the processing speed is reduced.

  On the other hand, according to the laser repair device 5 of this specific example, the irradiation energy of the laser beam can be switched in a short time, and the defective portion can be repaired efficiently and stably.

  That is, the laser repair apparatus of this specific example includes the energy control unit 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the energy control unit 5 includes laser light switching means including a first attenuator 10 that is first energy control means and a second attenuator 15 that is second energy control means. Further, the laser light switching unit includes a first galvanometer mirror 25, a first mirror 30, a second galvanometer mirror 35, and a second mirror 40.

  The first attenuator 10 is disposed on the optical path of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 45. A first galvanometer mirror 25 is arranged between the laser oscillator 45 and the first attenuator 10. A second galvanometer mirror 35 is arranged in a direction opposite to the first galvanometer mirror 25 so as to sandwich the first attenuator 10.

  The second attenuator 15 is disposed so as to face the first attenuator 10. The first mirror 30 is disposed so as to face the first galvanometer mirror 25. The second mirror 40 is disposed so as to face the second galvanometer mirror 35. The second attenuator 15 has a structure sandwiched between the first mirror 30 and the second mirror 40.

  The laser beam switching means having such a structure has a function of selectively switching the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator 45. The first and second galvanometer mirrors 25 and 35 are connected to swinging means (not shown), and the reflection angle can be changed by swinging. The reflection angles of the first mirror 30 and the second mirror 40 are fixed. The operation time for which the first and second galvanometer mirrors 25 and 35 swing is, for example, several milliseconds.

Here, the irradiation energy of the laser light emitted from the first attenuator 10 is set to be higher than the energy of the laser light emitted from the second attenuator 15.
That is, in the first attenuator 10, the polarization direction of the polarizer 75 and the polarization direction of the polarizing plate 80 are substantially the same, and the P wave or S wave is transmitted without being blocked.

  On the other hand, the second attenuator 15 maintains a state in which the polarization direction of the polarizing plate 80 is shifted by several degrees to several tens degrees with respect to the polarization direction of the polarizer 75. As a result, a part of the laser light transmitted through the second attenuator 15 is shielded, so that it becomes lower than the irradiation energy of the laser light emitted from the first attenuator 10.

  However, in this specific example, the irradiation energy of the laser light emitted from the first attenuator 10 is higher than that of the second attenuator 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. The irradiation energy of the laser light emitted from the second attenuator 15 may be higher than that of the first attenuator 10.

  Moreover, although the energy control unit 5 with which the laser repair apparatus of this example is provided uses two attenuators, it is not limited to this. A plurality of attenuators each set to a predetermined irradiation energy may be provided.

  Furthermore, although the 1st mirror 30 and the 2nd mirror 40 are used for the energy control unit 5 with which the laser repair apparatus of this example is provided, it is not limited to this. It is also possible to finely adjust the optical path using a galvanometer mirror instead of the first mirror 30 and the second mirror 40.

  When irradiating a laser beam with high irradiation energy by the energy control unit 5, as shown in FIG. 1A, the first galvanometer mirror 25 and the second galvanometer mirror 35 are in a substantially parallel state with respect to the optical path of the laser beam. keeping. Therefore, the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 45 is directly incident on the first attenuator 10. Then, the laser beam L1 with high irradiation energy is irradiated from the energy control unit 5 toward the workpiece.

  When the laser beam with low irradiation energy is irradiated by the energy control unit 5, as shown in FIG. 1B, the laser beam irradiated from the laser oscillator 45 by swinging the galvanometer mirrors 25 and 35 is the first. The galvanometer mirror 25 and the first mirror 30 travel while reflecting in this order so as to enter the second attenuator 15. By doing so, the laser light L2 of low irradiation energy irradiated from the second attenuator 15 travels while reflecting the second mirror 40 and the second galvanometer mirror 35 in this order, and the energy control unit 5 To be irradiated as laser light L2 having low irradiation energy.

  In the comparative example of FIG. 2 described above, the irradiation energy of the laser beam is switched using a single attenuator. In contrast, in this specific example, the first and second galvanometer mirrors 25 and 35 switch the optical path, and the first and second attenuators 15 that have been adjusted in advance to obtain the desired laser beam irradiation energy are used. Is selectively incident. Thereby, it is possible to switch and irradiate laser light with high irradiation energy or low irradiation energy from the energy control unit 5 in a short time.

  Next, the case where the laser repair of the liquid crystal display device 50 is performed using the laser repair device equipped with the energy control unit 5 of this specific example will be described.

  3 and 4 are process cross-sectional views for illustrating the process in the case of performing laser repair of the liquid crystal display device using the energy control unit of this specific example of FIG.

  5 and 6 are process cross-sectional views for illustrating the process in the case of performing laser repair of the liquid crystal display device using the energy control unit of the comparative example of FIG.

First, the comparative example will be described first.
As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the active matrix liquid crystal display device 50 includes a pair of glass substrates 58 and 70. Polarizing plates (not shown) are affixed on the outer main surfaces of the glass substrates 58 and 70, respectively. An array region 60 and a color filter 62 are formed in this order on the main surface inside the glass substrate 58, and an alignment film 64 is formed on the color filter 62. The array region 60 is provided to apply a voltage to the liquid crystal 65 for each pixel. For example, the array region 60 is a planarization region made of a wiring layer (not shown), a switching element such as a TFT (Thin Film Transistor), an interlayer insulating film, a resin, or the like. In addition, pixel electrodes and the like are included as appropriate. A large number of signal lines and gate lines are formed in a matrix in the array region 60 where the TFTs are formed, and TFTs for charging / discharging the pixel electrodes at the intersections of the signal lines and the gate lines. Is provided. In addition, pixel electrodes having dimensions of about several tens to several hundreds of micrometers are provided in a matrix adjacent to these TFTs. The color filter 62 typically has three colors of red, green, and blue corresponding to the three primary colors of light.

  On the other hand, a counter electrode 68, an alignment film 66, and the like are laminated in this order on the inner main surface of the glass substrate 70 facing this.

  Such a liquid crystal display device 50 may be defective in its manufacturing process. For example, if the switching elements such as TFTs provided in the array region 60 cause a malfunction or the pixel electrodes or the alignment films 64 and 66 are not normally formed, the transmitted light cannot be blocked in the pixels. , The part may always become a bright “bright spot defect”. Here, it is assumed that the defective pixel 52 in FIG. 5A is a bright spot defect.

  The laser light irradiation condition was such that the energy of the laser light irradiated from the laser oscillator 45 was about 8 micrometers joule per pulse. In the first step, which will be described later, the amount of transmission of the attenuator is about 87.5%, and the laser beam L1 having a high irradiation energy having about 7 micrometers joule per pulse is irradiated. In the second step to be described later, the amount of transmitted light of the attenuator is set to about 10%, and the laser beam L2 having a low irradiation energy having about 0.8 micrometer joule per pulse is irradiated. This is because when the laser beam irradiation energy L2 for disturbing the orientation of the alignment films 64 and 66 is larger than the laser beam irradiation energy L1 for forming the bubbles 54 (L1 <L2), the impact of the laser beam. This is because the bubbles 54 move.

  First, when performing laser repair of the defective pixel 52 existing in the liquid crystal display device 50, normally, as shown in FIG. 5B, the defective pixel 52 is irradiated with the laser light L1 with high irradiation energy and locally. The liquid crystal 65 is evaporated to form bubbles 54 in the liquid crystal 65 (first step). Thereafter, the defective pixel 52 is irradiated with a laser beam L2 having a low irradiation energy, and the alignment films 64 and 66 that are part of the liquid crystal display device 50 are scattered in the bubbles 54 (second step). In this way, the alignment of the alignment films 64 and 66 is disturbed to darken the defective pixel 52, and the liquid crystal display device 50 is laser repaired (two-step process).

  However, even if such a two-step process is taken, the bubbles 54 may move depending on the pixel pattern of the liquid crystal display device 50. In addition, the size of the bubbles 54 may be reduced as the temperature of the liquid crystal 65 decreases, and may disappear at about room temperature. Therefore, it is necessary for the laser repair device to have a short switching time of the laser beam irradiation energy.

However, when the energy control unit 6 of the comparative example of FIG. 2 is used, it takes about 2.5 seconds to switch the laser beam irradiation energy. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, while switching the irradiation energy of the laser light, the bubbles 54 move or disappear from the defective pixel 52, and the alignment films 64 and 66 are not sufficiently scattered. There is a case. As a result, the defective pixel 52 cannot be sufficiently darkened, and the laser repair of the liquid crystal display device 50 cannot be ensured.
On the other hand, according to the energy control unit 5 of this example, the optical path of the laser beam, that is, the irradiation energy can be switched in a short time of about 10 milliseconds, and the laser of the defective portion can be efficiently and stably changed. Can be repaired. Here, FIG. 3A illustrates the structure of the liquid crystal display device 50, and the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in FIG.
Here, the laser light irradiation conditions are the same as those in the comparative example described above. That is, the transmission amount of the first attenuator 10 used in the first step was set to about 87.5%, and the laser beam with the irradiation energy of about 7 micrometers joule per pulse was applied. Further, the transmission amount of the second attenuator 15 used in the second step was set to about 10%, and the laser beam with the irradiation energy of about 0.7 micrometer joule per pulse was irradiated.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3B, a laser beam with high irradiation energy was incident on the defective pixel 52 by the first attenuator 10 to form bubbles 54 in the liquid crystal 65. Immediately after that, as shown in FIG. 4A, the second attenuator 15 was irradiated with laser light with low irradiation energy, and the alignment films 64 and 66 were scattered through the bubbles 54. According to the energy control unit 5 of the specific example of FIG. 1, the irradiation energy of the laser light can be switched in a short time, so that the alignment film 64 is contained in the bubble 54 before the bubble 54 moves or disappears. 66 could be scattered. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, the defective pixel 52 having the bright spot defect can be darkened 71 effectively and stably.

  That is, according to the energy control unit 5 of this specific example, the optical path of the laser beam, that is, the irradiation energy can be switched in about 10 milliseconds, and the defective portion can be repaired efficiently and stably. be able to. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the manufacturing yield of the high-definition liquid crystal display device 50 in which bright spot defects are likely to occur, reduce the cost, and reduce the load on the environment.

  Here, as a result of the study, when the laser repair of the liquid crystal display device 50 is performed, the present inventor should perform the laser repair satisfactorily by setting the values of the high irradiation energy L1 and the low irradiation energy L2 to about 10: 1. I got the knowledge that I can do it. Furthermore, if the value of the high irradiation energy is lowered, the bubble size becomes small, so that the alignment films 64 and 66 cannot be sufficiently scattered. On the contrary, if the value of the low irradiation energy is increased, the bubbles 54 may move due to the impact of the laser beam.

  As described above, according to the energy control unit 5 of this specific example, the high irradiation energy and the low irradiation energy of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 45 can be switched in a short time, and the irradiation can be performed efficiently. Laser repair of defective parts can be performed stably. Furthermore, the production yield of the high-definition liquid crystal display device 50 in which bright spot defects are likely to occur can be improved, the cost can be reduced, and the load on the environment can be reduced.

  FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating a second specific example of the laser repair apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 7A shows a state in which the laser light is switched to a high irradiation energy, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the laser light is switched to a low irradiation energy.

  The laser repair apparatus of this specific example includes an energy control unit 7. The energy control unit 7 includes a branching unit 85, a shutter 90 that is a switching unit, a first attenuator 10, a combining unit 95, a first mirror 30, a second attenuator 15, and a second mirror 40. . The branching unit 85, the shutter 90, the first attenuator 10, and the combining unit 95 are disposed on the optical path of the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 45. A branching means 85 is provided between the first attenuator 10 and the laser oscillator 45, and a synthesizing means 95 is provided in the opposite direction to the branching means 85 with the first attenuator 10 in between. A shutter 90 is provided between the branching means 85 and the first attenuator 10. The second attenuator 15 is disposed to face the first attenuator 10. The first mirror 30 faces the branching means 85. The second mirror 40 faces the combining unit 95.

  Here, the synthesizing unit 95 has a role of increasing the irradiation energy by combining the S wave or P wave of the laser light emitted from the first and second attenuators 15. The shutter 90 serves to shield the laser light incident on the first attenuator 10 and moves up and down in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical path.

  However, in this specific example, the shutter 90 is disposed between the branching means 85 and the first attenuator 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is arranged between the first attenuator 10 and the combining means 95, between the first mirror 30 and the second attenuator 15, between the second attenuator 15 and the second mirror 40, and between the second mirror 40 and the combining means 95. The same effect can be obtained.

  Moreover, although the energy control unit 7 of this specific example uses the two attenuators 10 and 15, it is not limited to this. That is, a plurality of attenuators may be provided so that different predetermined irradiation energies are irradiated.

  When irradiating the laser beam L1 with high irradiation energy from the energy control unit 7, as shown in FIG. 7A, the laser beam L irradiated from the laser oscillator 45 is, for example, by a branching means 85 such as a half mirror. After being branched, the light enters the first attenuator 10 and the second attenuator 15 via the first mirror 30. Here, the shutter 90 is held at a position that does not block the optical path of the laser light toward the attenuator 10. The first attenuator 10 and the second attenuator 15 are set so as to be irradiated with laser light having a predetermined irradiation energy. In the combining means 95, the irradiation energy of the laser light irradiated from the first attenuator 10 and the irradiation energy of the laser light irradiated from the second attenuator 15 through the second mirror 40 are combined, so that high irradiation is achieved. The energy laser beam L1 is emitted from the energy control unit 7.

  When the laser light L2 having low irradiation energy is irradiated from the energy control unit 7, the optical path of the laser light incident on the first attenuator 10 is shielded by the shutter 90 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, no laser light is incident on the first attenuator 10.

  On the other hand, the laser beam that has passed through the second attenuator 15 is irradiated from the energy control unit 7 through the second mirror 40 and the combining means 95 in this order. Thereby, a laser beam with low irradiation energy is irradiated.

  That is, according to the energy control unit 7 of this specific example, the laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 45 is branched by the branching means 85, and one of the branched laser lights is not shielded by the shutter 90 and is combined by the combining means 95. Or by shielding with the shutter 90, the energy control unit 7 can switch and irradiate laser light with high irradiation energy or low irradiation energy. Therefore, it is possible to switch the irradiation energy simply by moving the shutter 90 up and down, and it is possible to repair the defective portion efficiently and stably.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating a third specific example of the laser repair apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 8A shows a state in which a laser beam having a high irradiation energy is irradiated from the laser repair device, and FIG. 8B shows a state in which a laser beam having a low irradiation energy is irradiated from the laser repair device.

  The energy control unit 8 of this specific example includes a first attenuator 10, a second attenuator 15, a first mirror 30, and a combining unit 95. The first attenuator 10 and the synthesizing means 95 are disposed on the optical path of the laser light L emitted from the first laser oscillator 45. The synthesizing means 95 is disposed in the opposite direction to the first laser oscillator 45 with the first attenuator 10 in between. The first attenuator 10 is disposed to face the second attenuator 15. The second attenuator 15 and the first mirror 30 are disposed on the optical path of the laser light L emitted from the second laser oscillator 46. The first mirror 30 is disposed in the opposite direction to the second laser oscillator 46 with the second attenuator 15 in between. Laser light switching means 47 is connected to these laser oscillators 45 and 46. The laser light switching unit 47 controls the irradiation and stop of the laser light emitted from the first laser oscillator 45 and the second laser oscillator 46.

  When the laser beam L1 with high irradiation energy is irradiated from the energy control unit 8, as shown in FIG. 8A, the laser beams irradiated from the first and second laser oscillators 45 and 46 are the first and second laser beams. The light enters each of the attenuators 15. Then, predetermined irradiation energy is irradiated from the first attenuator 10 and the second attenuator 15, respectively. Thereafter, the laser light emitted from the first attenuator 10 and the laser light emitted from the second attenuator 15 and passed through the first mirror 30 are combined, so that the laser light L1 with high irradiation energy is converted into the energy control unit 8. It will be irradiated from.

  Further, when the laser beam L2 with low irradiation energy is irradiated from the energy control unit 8, the laser beam irradiated from the first laser oscillator 45 is stopped and only the second laser oscillator 46 is stopped as shown in FIG. Laser light is irradiated and incident on the second attenuator 15. Thereafter, a laser beam having a predetermined irradiation energy is irradiated from the second attenuator 15 and is incident on the combining means 95 through the first mirror 30. As a result, the laser light L2 having a low irradiation energy is emitted from the energy control unit 8.

  According to the energy control unit 8 of this specific example, the irradiation energy of the desired laser beam can be switched in a short time only by selectively performing the irradiation and stop of the laser beam. Thus, it is possible to repair a defective portion efficiently and stably.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a laser repair apparatus according to a modification of this specific example.
In this modification, a shutter 90 that blocks the optical path through the first attenuator 10 is provided. As shown in FIG. 9A, the shutter 90 is opened to irradiate high energy laser light, and as shown in FIG. 9B, the shutter 90 is closed to emit low energy laser light. Can be irradiated.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of the laser repair apparatus of this embodiment.

  The laser repair apparatus 100 of this specific example includes a laser oscillator 45 that irradiates laser light, an energy control unit 5 that controls irradiation energy of the laser light, a galvano mirror 105 that changes an optical path, and a laser beam for condensing the laser light. A condensing lens 110, a relay lens 115 for focusing an image to observe the workpiece W, an image sensor 120 for detecting an image of the workpiece W, and an illumination 125 for illuminating the workpiece W The stage 130 on which the workpiece W is placed and movable in the plane direction, and the laser oscillator 45, the energy control unit 5, and the controller 135 for controlling the stage 130 are included.

  Here, the laser oscillator 45, the energy control unit 5, the galvano mirror 105, and the condenser lens 110 are optical means for guiding the laser light emitted from the laser radiator to the workpiece W. The relay lens 115, the image sensor 120, and the illumination 125 are used as observation means.

  The laser light L emitted from the laser oscillator 45 passes through the energy control unit 5, the galvanometer mirror 105, and the condenser lens 110 in this order and enters the workpiece W. An illumination 125 is provided in a direction opposite to the condenser lens 110 with the stage 130 interposed therebetween. A motor (not shown) is connected to the stage 130, and the stage 130 can be moved by driving the motor. Further, a controller 135 is connected to this motor, and the position of the stage 130 is controlled by the controller 135. An image of the workpiece W is captured by the image sensor 120 via the relay lens 115. The captured image is converted into image information by an image processing unit (not shown) and transmitted to the controller 135.

  The controller 135 is connected with a pass / fail determination means (not shown) and plays a role of determining whether to continue or stop the laser repair based on the image information. Thus, operations such as laser light irradiation, laser light switching, and stage 130 movement are determined. Next, the operation of the laser repair apparatus 100 will be described.

  First, the laser beam L emitted from the laser oscillator 45 enters the energy control unit 5. The laser light emitted from the energy control unit 5 enters the galvanometer mirror 105. The laser light reflected by the galvanometer mirror 105 enters the workpiece W via the condenser lens 110 and performs laser repair of the defective portion of the workpiece. The laser repaired image of the workpiece W is captured by the image sensor 120 via the relay lens 115 and then transmitted to the controller 135 as image information.

  Here, when the galvanometer mirror 105 is swung, the local region of the workpiece W can be scanned with laser light. Further, by moving the stage 130, it is possible to irradiate laser light to other regions other than the workpiece W. In this way, laser repair can be performed over the entire surface of the workpiece W.

  In this case, the spot diameter of the laser beam can be set to about 1 to 10 micrometers, for example. The laser beam may be either pulsed or continuous. The repetition frequency when scanning with laser light is about 100 to 50000 hertz, and the scanning speed when the galvano mirror 105 is swung can be about 0.1 mm / second to about 10 mm / minute. As a light source of the laser light 100, for example, a YAG laser having a wavelength of 1064 nanometer band can be used.

  In this laser repair apparatus, the energy control unit 5 of the first specific example shown in FIG. 1 is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the same effect can be obtained by using the energy control units 7 and 8 of the second specific example of FIG. 7 and the third specific example of FIG.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to specific examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these specific examples.
For example, switching the irradiation energy of the laser light in a short time as well as this example for switching the defective part of the electronic component when soldered to the printed board and switching the internal circuit of the semiconductor element, It is possible to repair the defective portion efficiently and stably.

  However, it is particularly suitable to use for a bright spot defect of a liquid crystal display device that requires switching of laser beam irradiation energy in a short time.

  In addition, even if each person configuring the energy control unit and the laser repair apparatus using the energy control unit has various modifications and additions, the scope of the present invention is included as long as the gist of the present invention is included. Is included.

It is a block diagram which illustrates the 1st specific example of the laser repair apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which illustrates the laser repair apparatus of a comparative example. It is process sectional drawing for demonstrating the process of the experiment example which performs the laser repair of a liquid crystal display device using the laser repair apparatus of this example of FIG. It is process sectional drawing for demonstrating the process of the experiment example which performs the laser repair of a liquid crystal display device using the laser repair apparatus of this example of FIG. It is process sectional drawing for demonstrating the process of the experiment example which performs laser repair of a liquid crystal display device using the laser repair apparatus of the comparative example of FIG. It is process sectional drawing for demonstrating the process of the experiment example which performs laser repair of a liquid crystal display device using the laser repair apparatus of the comparative example of FIG. It is a block diagram which illustrates the 2nd specific example of the laser repair apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which illustrates the 3rd specific example of the laser repair apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which illustrates the modification of the 3rd specific example of the laser repair apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the whole structure of the laser repair apparatus of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

5, 6, 7, 8 energy control unit, 10, 11 first energy control means (first attenuator), 15 second energy control means (second attenuator), 25 first galvanometer mirror, 30 first mirror, 35th 2 galvanometer mirrors, 40 second mirror, 45 laser oscillator, 46 second laser oscillator, 50 liquid crystal display device, 52 defective pixels, 54 bubbles, 71 darkening, 75 polarizer, 80 polarizing plate, 85 branching means, 90 shutter, 95 Combining means, 100 laser repair device, 105 galvanometer mirror, 110 condenser lens, 115 relay lens, 120 image sensor, 125 illumination, 130 stage, 135 controller

Claims (5)

A movable stage on which the irradiated member is placed;
A laser oscillation section for emitting laser light;
A first attenuator provided to transmit energy of the emitted laser beam;
A second attenuator provided to transmit energy of the emitted laser beam;
A first optical path for extracting the laser light via at least one of the first and second attenuators, and a second optical path for extracting the laser light without passing through at least one of the first and second attenuators. Switching means capable of switching between, and
Optical means for guiding the laser light through the first and second optical paths to the irradiated member;
A control unit for controlling the switching means;
A laser repair device comprising:   2. The laser repair apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the energy of the laser light extracted from the first optical path is higher than the energy of the laser light extracted from the second optical path.   The said switching means has a galvanometer mirror which selectively switches the said laser beam, and a mirror which reflects the laser beam selectively radiated | emitted by the said galvanometer mirror, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Laser repair device. The laser oscillation unit includes a first laser oscillator and a second laser oscillator,
The laser beam emitted from the first laser oscillator is guided to the first attenuator,
3. The laser repair device according to claim 1, wherein the laser light emitted from the second laser oscillator is guided to the second attenuator. 4. A first attenuator for attenuating the energy of the laser light and a second attenuator for attenuating the energy of the laser light with a higher attenuation than the first attenuator, and at least one of the first and second attenuators. A step of irradiating the irradiated portion of the liquid crystal display device with the laser light via any one of the liquid crystal display devices, and then the irradiation of the liquid crystal display device with the laser light not passing through the at least one of the first and second attenuators. And a step of irradiating the laser beam.

Images