JP2008175846A - Positioning device for substrate and positioning method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To position a substrate in such a manner that two edges orthogonal each other of the substrate mounted on chucks of an exposure device having a plurality of chucks do not deviated from the detection range of a sensor for prealignment provided in each chuck. <P>SOLUTION: When a substrate 1 is horizontally mounted on a cooling plate 30, rollers 31, 32, 33, 34 are pushed to the respective side edges of the substrate 1 by air cylinders 41, 42, 43, 44 to position the substrate 1. In this step, pressure switching devices 53, 54 control the pushing force of the air cylinders 41, 42, 43, 44 to push the rollers 31, 32, 33, 34 to the side edges of the substrate to be different in opposing two sides from each other according to the arrangement of the sensors for prealignment so as to maintain the two edges orthogonal each other of the substrate detected by the sensors for prealignment in predetermined positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate positioning apparatus and a positioning method for positioning a substrate before carrying the substrate into each chuck in an exposure apparatus that performs substrate exposure using a plurality of chucks.

  Manufacturing of TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrates, color filter substrates, plasma display panel substrates, organic EL (Electroluminescence) display panel substrates, etc. for liquid crystal display devices used as display panels is performed using an exposure apparatus, and photolithography. This is performed by forming a pattern on the substrate by a technique. As an exposure apparatus, a projection method in which a mask pattern is projected onto a substrate using a lens or a mirror, and a minute gap (proximity gap) is provided between the mask and the substrate to transfer the mask pattern to the substrate. There is a proximity method. The proximity method is inferior in pattern resolution performance to the projection method, but the configuration of the irradiation optical system is simple, the processing capability is high, and it is suitable for mass production.

  The proximity exposure apparatus includes a chuck that mounts and fixes a substrate, and the chuck is mounted on a stage that performs gap alignment between the mask and the substrate and alignment of the substrate. The loading of the substrate into the chuck and the unloading of the substrate from the chuck are usually performed by a handling arm such as a robot. Then, after carrying the substrate into the chuck and before aligning the gap between the mask and the substrate and aligning the substrate, the substrate pre-alignment is performed so that the angle and position of the substrate are substantially constant with respect to the optical system of the exposure apparatus. Is done.

In Patent Document 1, an edge sensor that detects the edge of a substrate is arranged at a reference position corresponding to two orthogonal sides of the substrate in the pre-alignment of the substrate, and the substrate and the edge sensor are moved relative to each other. A technique for correcting the angle and position of the stage from the amount of movement until the edge of the stage is detected by the edge sensor is disclosed. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to relatively move the substrate and the edge sensor to detect the edge of the substrate, it takes time to pre-align the substrate. Therefore, in recent years, a substrate having a predetermined detection range such as a CCD camera is used, and the substrate is pre-aligned by detecting the edge of the substrate without relatively moving the substrate and the sensor.
JP-A-9-90308

  In the exposure of a substrate using the conventional proximity method, the time required for carrying the substrate into and out of the chuck and the time required for substrate pre-alignment directly affect the tact time, and the throughput is reduced. It was preventing improvement. On the other hand, a plurality of chucks for mounting a substrate and a stage for moving the chuck are provided, and a substrate mounted on one chuck is subjected to gap alignment, alignment and exposure, while the substrate is carried into another chuck and others. An exposure apparatus has been developed for carrying out a substrate from the chuck and pre-aligning the substrate. Pre-alignment of the substrate is provided with a plurality of sensors having a predetermined detection range such as a CCD camera for each chuck, detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck, and based on the detection result, Each chuck is moved by each stage.

  However, in recent years, the larger the substrate with the larger display panel, the larger the variation in the dimensions of the substrate, and the edge of the substrate mounted on each chuck is detected by multiple sensors provided for each chuck. The risk of getting out of range came out.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate so that two orthogonal edges of a substrate mounted on each chuck of an exposure apparatus having a plurality of chucks do not deviate from the detection range of a pre-alignment sensor provided for each chuck. Is positioning. Furthermore, the subject of this invention is responding to both the case where a rectangular board | substrate is mounted vertically on each chuck | zipper, and the case where it mounts horizontally.

  A substrate positioning apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of chucks on which a rectangular substrate is mounted, a plurality of substrate transfer means for carrying the substrate into each chuck, a plurality of stages for moving each chuck, and a plurality of predetermined detection ranges. And a plurality of detection means for detecting edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck, and based on the detection result of each detection means, each chuck is moved by each stage, A substrate positioning device for an exposure apparatus that performs pre-alignment of a substrate mounted on each chuck, and is mounted on the substrate mounting means for mounting the substrate before each substrate transport means is loaded into each chuck, and mounted on the substrate mounting means. A plurality of contact means provided facing the edge of each side of the substrate, a plurality of pressing means for pressing each contact means against the edge of each side of the substrate, and a pressing force of the plurality of pressing means And switching means that change the pressing force of the pressing means on two opposite sides of the substrate according to the arrangement of the plurality of sensors of each detecting means, and the detection means detects each of the substrates detected by each detecting means. Two edges that are orthogonal to each other are kept in a predetermined position.

  Further, the substrate positioning method of the present invention includes a plurality of chucks on which a rectangular substrate is mounted, a plurality of substrate transfer means for carrying the substrate into each chuck, a plurality of stages for moving each chuck, and a predetermined detection range. And a plurality of detection means for detecting edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck, and each chuck is moved by each stage based on the detection result of each detection means. A substrate positioning method for an exposure apparatus that performs pre-alignment of a substrate mounted on each chuck, and before each substrate transport means carries the substrate into each chuck, the substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting means, A plurality of contact means are provided facing the edge of each side of the substrate, each contact means is pressed against the edge of each side of the substrate, and the contact means is arranged on the side of the substrate according to the arrangement of the plurality of sensors of each detection means. Press against the edge The pressing force at different each other in two opposing sides of the substrate that is intended to keep the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate, each detection unit detects a predetermined position.

  Before each substrate transfer means carries the substrate into each chuck, the substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting means, and a plurality of contact means are provided facing the edge of each side of the substrate, and each contact means is provided on each side of the substrate. Press against the edge to position the substrate. At this time, if the pressing force for pressing the contact means against the edge of the side of the substrate is the same on the two opposite sides of the substrate and the center position of the substrate is constant, each substrate transport means has a large variation in substrate dimensions. When the substrate is loaded into each chuck, there are cases where the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck are out of the detection range of the sensor of each detection means. In the present invention, according to the arrangement of the plurality of sensors of each detection means, the pressing force pressing the contact means against the edge of the side of the substrate is made different between the two opposite sides of the substrate, and the orthogonality of the substrate detected by each detection means Since the edges of the two sides are kept in a predetermined position, even when there is a large variation in the dimensions of the substrate, when each substrate transport means carries the substrate into each chuck, the two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck An edge is located in the detection range of the sensor of each detection means.

  Furthermore, the substrate positioning device of the present invention is mounted vertically on the substrate mounting means and a plurality of contact means provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate mounted horizontally on the substrate mounting means. And a plurality of other contact means provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate. Further, the substrate positioning method of the present invention is provided with a plurality of contact means facing the edge of each side of a rectangular substrate mounted horizontally on the substrate mounting means, and mounted vertically on the substrate mounting means. A plurality of other contact means are provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate. When mounting a rectangular substrate vertically on each chuck and when mounting it horizontally, each substrate transport means will have a different orientation of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting means before loading the substrate into each chuck. There must be. A plurality of contact means are provided facing the edges of each side of the rectangular board mounted horizontally on the board mounting means, and the edges of each side of the rectangular board mounted vertically on the board mounting means are faced. Since a plurality of different contact means are provided, it is possible to deal with both cases where a rectangular substrate is mounted vertically on each chuck and when it is mounted horizontally.

  Furthermore, in the substrate positioning device of the present invention, the substrate mounting means is a cooling plate for cooling the substrate. The substrate positioning method of the present invention uses a cooling plate for cooling the substrate as the substrate mounting means. The substrate is cooled by the cooling plate before each substrate transport means carries the substrate into each chuck.

  According to the present invention, according to the arrangement of the plurality of sensors of each detection means, the pressing force pressing the contact means against the edge of the side of the substrate is made different between the two opposite sides of the substrate, and the substrate detected by each detection means By positioning the two orthogonal edges at a predetermined position, the substrate is positioned so that the two orthogonal edges of the substrate mounted on each chuck do not deviate from the detection range of the sensor of each detection means. be able to.

  Further, a plurality of contact means are provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular board mounted horizontally on the board mounting means, and the edges of each side of the rectangular board mounted vertically on the board mounting means are provided. By providing a plurality of other contact means facing each other, it is possible to cope with both a case where a rectangular substrate is mounted vertically on each chuck and a case where it is mounted horizontally.

  Further, by using a cooling plate for cooling the substrate as the substrate mounting means, the substrate can be cooled before each substrate transport means carries the substrate into each chuck.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a part of the exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The exposure apparatus includes an X guide 4, an X stage 5, a Y guide 6, a Y stage 7, a θ stage 8, a Z-tilt mechanism 9, chucks 10a and 10b, CCD cameras 11 and 12, a mask holder 20, a cooling plate 30, and Substrate transport robots 60a and 60b are included. In FIG. 2, the cooling plate 30 and the substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b are omitted. In addition to these, the exposure apparatus includes an exposure light source, an irradiation optical system, a gap sensor, an alignment sensor, a temperature control unit for managing the temperature in the apparatus, and the like.

  FIG. 1 is a top view of a part of the exposure apparatus. A mask 2 held by a mask holder 20 is disposed above an exposure position where the substrate 1 is exposed. At the left and right of the exposure position, delivery positions a and b for carrying the substrate 1 in and out of the chucks 10a and 10b are arranged. By the movement of the X stage 5 described later, the chuck 10a moves between a delivery position a provided on the left side of the exposure position and the exposure position, and the chuck 10b is provided with a delivery position b provided on the right side of the exposure position and the exposure position. Move between. FIG. 1 shows a state where the chucks 10a and 10b are at the delivery positions a and b, respectively.

  A cooling plate 30 for cooling the substrate 1 is provided in front of the exposure position. The substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b alternately transfer the substrate 1 from a transfer line (not shown) to the cooling plate 30 and transfer the substrate 1 from the cooling plate 30 to the chucks 10a and 10b, respectively. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the handling arm of the substrate transfer robot 60 b on which the substrate 1 is mounted is above the cooling plate 30.

  A plurality of pins (not shown) are housed inside the cooling plate 30. The cooling plate 30 raises the pins to receive the substrate 1 from the handling arms of the substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b, and lowers the pins to bring the substrate 1 into contact with the cooling surface. Further, the cooling plate 30 raises the pins to separate the substrate 1 from the cooling surface, and the handling arms of the substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b receive the substrate 1 from the tips of the pins.

  When the chuck 10a is at the delivery position a, the substrate transfer robot 60a loads the substrate 1 from the cooling plate 30 into the chuck 10a, and unloads the exposed substrate from the chuck 10a to a transfer line (not shown). Similarly, when the chuck 10b is at the delivery position b, the substrate transfer robot 60b loads the substrate 1 from the cooling plate 30 to the chuck 10b, and unloads the exposed substrate from the chuck 10b to a transfer line (not shown). FIG. 1 shows a state where the handling arm of the substrate transfer robot 60a on which the substrate 1 is mounted is above the chuck 10a.

  Similar to the cooling plate 30, a plurality of pins (not shown) are accommodated in the chucks 10a and 10b. The chucks 10a and 10b raise the pins to receive the substrate 1 from the handling arms of the substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b, and lower the pins to bring the substrate 1 into contact with the chuck surface. Further, the chucks 10a and 10b raise the pins to separate the substrate 1 from the chuck surface, and the handling arms of the substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b receive the substrate 1 from the tips of the pins.

  In FIG. 2, chucks 10 a and 10 b are mounted on a θ stage 8 via a Z-tilt mechanism 9, and a Y stage 7 and an X stage 5 are provided below the θ stage 8. The X stage 5 moves along the X guide 4 in the X direction (lateral direction in the drawing). The Y stage 7 moves in the Y direction (the drawing depth direction) along the Y guide 6 provided on the X stage 5. The θ stage 8 rotates in the θ direction, and the Z-tilt mechanism 9 moves and tilts in the Z direction (vertical direction in the drawing). The Z-tilt mechanism 9 may be provided on the mask holder 20 instead of being provided on each stage having the chucks 10a and 10b. 2 shows a state in which the chucks 10a and 10b are at the transfer positions a and b, respectively, and the handling arm of the substrate transfer robot 60a on which the substrate 1 is mounted is above the chuck 10a, as in FIG.

  A plurality of CCD cameras 11 and 12 are arranged above the chucks 10a and 10b at the delivery positions a and b. As will be described later, the CCD camera 11 or the CCD camera 12 detects edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 mounted on the chucks 10a and 10b. At the delivery positions a and b, based on the detection result of the CCD camera 11 or the CCD camera 12, the X stage 5 moves in the X direction, the Y stage 7 moves in the Y direction, or the θ stage 8 rotates in the θ direction. By doing so, the pre-alignment of the substrate 1 mounted on the chucks 10a and 10b is performed. After the pre-alignment of the substrate 1, the X stage 5 moves the chucks 10a and 10b to the exposure position.

  Above the mask holder 20, a gap sensor, an alignment sensor, and an irradiation optical system (not shown) are arranged. At the exposure position, based on the detection result of the gap sensor, the Z-tilt mechanism 9 moves and tilts in the Z direction, so that the gap between the mask 2 and the substrate 1 is aligned. Further, based on the detection result of the alignment sensor, the X stage 5 moves in the X direction, the Y stage 7 moves in the Y direction, or the θ stage 8 rotates in the θ direction, thereby aligning the substrate 1. Is called. After alignment of the substrate 1, the substrate 1 is exposed by irradiating the mask 2 with exposure light from the irradiation optical system.

  In the present embodiment, the chucks 10a and 10b are alternately moved to the exposure position, and the exposure of the substrate 1 mounted on the chuck 10a and the exposure of the substrate 1 mounted on the chuck 10b are alternately performed. While the gap alignment, alignment, and exposure are being performed on the substrate 1 mounted on one chuck at the exposure position, the substrate 1 is loaded into and unloaded from the other chuck and mounted on the other chuck at the transfer position. Pre-alignment of the substrate 1 is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a top view of the chuck in the delivery position. FIG. 3 shows a case where the rectangular substrate 1 is mounted vertically on the chucks 10a and 10b. 3 indicates a case where a rectangular substrate is mounted horizontally on the chucks 10a and 10b. In the present embodiment, three CCD cameras 11 and three CCD cameras 12 are arranged above the chucks 10a and 10b at the delivery positions a and b. Each of the CCD cameras 11 and 12 has a predetermined detection range, and detects the edge of the substrate mounted on the chucks 10a and 10b.

  Two of the three CCD cameras 11 are arranged above the edge of one vertical side of the substrate 1 mounted vertically on the chucks 10 a and 10 b, and the other one is located on one side of the substrate 1. Located above the edge. Two of the three CCD cameras 12 are arranged above the edge of one side of the substrate mounted horizontally on the chucks 10a and 10b indicated by broken lines, and the other one is the vertical length of the substrate. It is arrange | positioned above the edge of one side.

  When the substrate 1 is mounted vertically on the chucks 10a and 10b, the three CCD cameras 11 detect the vertical edge of the substrate 1 at two locations and the horizontal edge at one location. When the substrate is mounted horizontally on the chucks 10a and 10b, the three CCD cameras 12 detect the edge of one side of the substrate at two locations, and detect the edge of one vertical side at one location. By detecting the edge of one side of two orthogonal sides of the substrate at two locations and detecting the edge of the other side at one location, the tilt and position of the substrate 1 can be detected.

  4A is a top view of the cooling plate, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the cooling plate. In the present embodiment, in FIG. 1, when the substrate 1 is transferred from the cooling plate 30 to the chucks 10a and 10b, the substrate transfer robots 60a and 60b change the direction of the handling arm by 90 degrees. In the case of being mounted vertically, the substrate 1 must be mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30. Further, when the substrate 1 is mounted horizontally on the chucks 10 a and 10 b, the substrate 1 must be mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30. 4A and 4B show a case where the rectangular substrate 1 is mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30. FIG. Further, the broken line in FIG. 4A indicates a case where a rectangular substrate is mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, rollers 31, 32, 33, and 34 are provided facing the edges of the respective sides of the substrate 1 that is mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30. Rollers 35, 36, 37, and 38 are provided facing the edges of the respective sides of the substrate mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30 indicated by broken lines. In the present embodiment, two rollers 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 are provided for each side of the substrate.

  The rollers 31, 32, 33, and 34 are connected to the piston rods of the air cylinders 41, 42, 43, and 44, respectively. The rollers 35, 36, 37, and 38 are connected to piston rods of air cylinders 45, 46, 47, and 48, respectively. When the substrate 1 is mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30, the air cylinders 41, 42, 43, 44 press the rollers 31, 32, 33, 34 against the edges of each side of the substrate 1, thereby Positioning is performed. When the substrate is mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30, the air cylinders 45, 46, 47, 48 press the rollers 35, 36, 37, 38 against the edge of each side of the substrate, thereby positioning the substrate. Is done.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating piping connected to the air cylinder. The air cylinders 41, 43, 45, 47 are connected to the direction control valve 51 and are operated by the air supplied from the direction control valve 51. A pressure switching device 53 is connected between the direction control valve 51 and the air cylinders 41, 43, 45, 47. The pressure switching device 53 is composed of, for example, an electropneumatic regulator, and switches the pressure of air supplied to the air cylinders 41, 43, 45, 47. The pressure switching device 53 switches the pressure of the air supplied to the air cylinders 41, 43, 45, 47, so that the air cylinders 41, 43, 45, 47 cause the rollers 31, 33, 35, 37 to move to the side of the substrate. The pressing force pressed against the edge changes.

  On the other hand, the air cylinders 42, 44, 46, 48 are connected to the direction control valve 52 and are operated by the air supplied from the direction control valve 52. A pressure switching device 54 is connected between the direction control valve 52 and the air cylinders 42, 44, 46, 48. The pressure switching device 54 is composed of, for example, an electropneumatic regulator, and switches the pressure of air supplied to the air cylinders 42, 44, 46, 48. The pressure switching device 54 switches the pressure of the air supplied to the air cylinders 42, 44, 46, 48, so that the air cylinders 42, 44, 46, 48 move the rollers 32, 34, 36, 38 to the side of the substrate. The pressing force pressed against the edge changes.

  In the present embodiment, when the substrate is mounted vertically on the chucks 10a and 10b, the air cylinders 41, 42, and the substrate mounted on the chuck 10a and the substrate mounted on the chuck 10b are used for positioning the substrate. The pressing forces 43 and 44 press the rollers 31, 32, 33 and 34 against the edges of the sides of the substrate are made different from each other on the two opposite sides of the substrate. Similarly, when the substrate is mounted horizontally on the chucks 10a and 10b, when the substrate is positioned, the air cylinders 45, 46, 47, and 48 are divided between the substrate mounted on the chuck 10a and the substrate mounted on the chuck 10b. However, the pressing force that presses the rollers 35, 36, 37, and 38 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1 is made different between the two opposite sides of the substrate.

  FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the positioning operation of the substrate mounted vertically on the chuck 10a. As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate 1 mounted vertically on the chuck 10 a is mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30 with the orientation flat 3 being at the upper left. The substrate 1 is positioned by rollers 31, 32, 33 and 34. At that time, the pressure switching device 54 in FIG. 5 depressurizes the air supplied to the air cylinders 42, 44, and the air cylinders 42, 44 press the rollers 32, 34 against the edges of the substrate 1 in the arrow direction. The air cylinders 41 and 43 are made smaller than the pressing force that presses the rollers 31 and 33 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1. As a result, the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 that form a corner with the orientation flat 3 are maintained at predetermined positions by the rollers 31 and 33.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 1 positioned in this way is mounted vertically on the chuck 10a with the orientation flat 3 at the lower left. The CCD camera 11 detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 that form a corner with the orientation flat 3.

  FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the positioning operation of the substrate mounted vertically on the chuck 10b. As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate 1 mounted vertically on the chuck 10 b is mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30 with the orientation flat 3 being at the lower right. The substrate 1 is positioned by rollers 31, 32, 33 and 34. At that time, the pressure switching device 53 in FIG. 5 depressurizes the air supplied to the air cylinders 41 and 43, and the air cylinders 41 and 43 press the rollers 31 and 33 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1 in the arrow direction. The air cylinders 42 and 44 are made smaller than the pressing force pressing the rollers 32 and 34 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1. Thereby, the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 forming a corner with the orientation flat 3 are maintained at predetermined positions by the rollers 32 and 34.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 1 positioned in this way is mounted vertically on the chuck 10b with the orientation flat 3 at the lower left. The CCD camera 11 detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 that form a corner with the orientation flat 3.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the positioning operation of the substrate mounted horizontally on the chuck 10a. As shown in FIG. 8, the substrate 1 mounted horizontally on the chuck 10a is mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30 with the orientation flat 3 at the lower left. The substrate 1 is positioned by rollers 35, 36, 37, and 38. At that time, the pressure switching device 54 in FIG. 5 depressurizes the air supplied to the air cylinders 46, 48, and the air cylinders 46, 48 press the rollers 36, 38 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1 in the arrow direction. Is made smaller than the pressing force with which the air cylinders 45 and 47 press the rollers 35 and 37 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1. As a result, the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 that form a certain corner of the orientation flat 3 are maintained at predetermined positions by the rollers 35 and 37.

  The substrate thus positioned is mounted horizontally on the chuck 10a with the orientation flat 3 at the lower right as shown by a broken line in FIG. The CCD camera 12 detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate that forms a certain corner of the orientation flat 3.

  FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the positioning operation of the substrate mounted horizontally on the chuck 10b. As shown in FIG. 9, the substrate 1 mounted horizontally on the chuck 10b is mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30 with the orientation flat 3 positioned at the upper right. The substrate 1 is positioned by rollers 35, 36, 37, and 38. At that time, the pressure switching device 53 in FIG. 5 depressurizes the air supplied to the air cylinders 45 and 47, and the air cylinders 45 and 47 press the rollers 35 and 37 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1 in the arrow direction. The air cylinders 46 and 48 are made smaller than the pressing force pressing the rollers 36 and 38 against the edge of the side of the substrate 1. Thereby, the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 that form a corner with the orientation flat 3 are maintained at predetermined positions by the rollers 36 and 38.

  The substrate 1 thus positioned is mounted horizontally on the chuck 10b with the orientation flat 3 at the lower right as shown by the broken line in FIG. The CCD camera 12 detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate 1 that form a corner with the orientation flat 3.

  According to the embodiment described above, the pressing force that presses the rollers 31, 32, 33, 34 or the rollers 35, 36, 37, 38 against the edge of the substrate according to the arrangement of the CCD camera 11 or the CCD camera 12. Are different from each other on the two opposite sides of the substrate, and the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate detected by the CCD camera 11 or the CCD camera 12 are kept in a predetermined position, thereby orthogonal to the substrates mounted on the chucks 10a and 10b. The substrate can be positioned so that the edges of the two sides do not deviate from the detection range of the CCD camera 11 or the CCD camera 12.

  Further, rollers 31, 32, 33, and 34 are provided facing the edges of each side of the rectangular substrate mounted horizontally on the cooling plate 30, and each of the rectangular substrates mounted vertically on the cooling plate 30 is provided. By providing another roller 35, 36, 37, 38 facing the edge of the side, the rectangular substrate can be mounted either vertically or horizontally on the chucks 10a, 10b. be able to.

  Further, by using the cooling plate 30 for cooling the substrate, the substrate can be cooled before the substrate transport robots 60a and 60b carry the substrate into the chucks 10a and 10b.

  In the embodiment described above, the exposure apparatus has two chucks 10a and 10b. However, the present invention can also be applied to an exposure apparatus having three or more chucks. In the embodiment described above, the exposure apparatus detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate using the CCD cameras 11 and 12, but the present invention provides other sensors having a predetermined detection range. The present invention can also be applied to an exposure apparatus that detects the edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a part of an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the chuck | zipper in a delivery position. 4A is a top view of the cooling plate, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the cooling plate. It is a figure which shows the piping connected to the air cylinder. It is a figure explaining the positioning operation | movement of the board | substrate mounted in the chuck | zipper 10a vertically. It is a figure explaining the positioning operation | movement of the board | substrate mounted vertically on the chuck | zipper 10b. It is a figure explaining the positioning operation | movement of the board | substrate mounted horizontally on the chuck | zipper 10a. It is a figure explaining the positioning operation | movement of the board | substrate mounted horizontally on the chuck | zipper 10b.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Mask 3 Orientation flat 4 X guide 5 X stage 6 Y guide 7 Y stage 8 θ stage 9 Z-tilt mechanism 10a, 10b Chuck 11, 12 CCD camera 20 Mask holder 30 Cooling plates 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 , 36, 37, 38 Rollers 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 Air cylinders 51, 52 Directional control valves 53, 53 Pressure switching devices 60a, 60b Substrate transport robot

Claims (6)

A plurality of chucks on which a rectangular substrate is mounted;
A plurality of substrate transfer means for loading the substrate into each chuck;
Multiple stages that move each chuck;
A plurality of sensors having a predetermined detection range, and a plurality of detection means for detecting edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck;
A substrate positioning device for an exposure apparatus that performs pre-alignment of a substrate mounted on each chuck by moving each chuck by each stage based on the detection result of each detection means,
A substrate mounting means for mounting the substrate before each substrate transport means is carried into each chuck;
A plurality of contact means provided facing the edge of each side of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting means;
A plurality of pressing means for pressing each contact means against the edge of each side of the substrate;
Switching means for changing the pressing force of the plurality of pressing means,
According to the arrangement of the plurality of sensors of each detection means, the switching means makes the pressing force of the pressing means different from each other on two opposite sides of the substrate, and the edges of the two orthogonal sides of the substrate detected by each detection means Is maintained at a predetermined position. A plurality of contact means provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate mounted horizontally on the substrate mounting means;
2. The substrate positioning according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of other contact means provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate mounted vertically on the substrate mounting means. apparatus.   3. The substrate positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate mounting means is a cooling plate that cools the substrate. A plurality of chucks on which a rectangular substrate is mounted;
A plurality of substrate transfer means for loading the substrate into each chuck;
Multiple stages that move each chuck;
A plurality of sensors having a predetermined detection range, and a plurality of detection means for detecting edges of two orthogonal sides of the substrate mounted on each chuck;
A method for positioning a substrate for an exposure apparatus that performs pre-alignment of a substrate mounted on each chuck by moving each chuck by each stage based on the detection result of each detection means,
Before each substrate transport means carries the substrate to each chuck,
Mount the board on the board mounting means,
Provide a plurality of contact means facing the edge of each side of the substrate,
Press each contact means against the edge of each side of the substrate,
Depending on the arrangement of the plurality of sensors of each detection means, the pressing force pressing the contact means against the edge of the side of the substrate is made different between the two opposite sides of the substrate, and the two orthogonal sides of the substrate detected by each detection means are A method for positioning a substrate, characterized in that the edge is kept at a predetermined position. Provide a plurality of contact means facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate mounted horizontally on the substrate mounting means,
5. The substrate positioning method according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of other contact means are provided facing the edge of each side of the rectangular substrate mounted vertically on the substrate mounting means.   6. The substrate positioning method according to claim 4, wherein a cooling plate for cooling the substrate is used as the substrate mounting means.

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