JP2008304886A - Pellicle peeling device and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pellicle peeling device and its method for quickly and easily peel a pellicle frame without contaminating, damaging or deforming a photomask. <P>SOLUTION: The pellicle peeling device includes a first holding mechanism 11 holding a photomask 100, a second holding mechanism 12 holding a pellicle frame 102, a heating device heating an adhesion faces of the pellicle frame 102 and the photomask 100, a rotating mechanism 13 rotating one of the first and second holding mechanisms 11, 12 almost horizontally to the adhesion faces with respect to the other, and preferably, a pulling mechanism 14 pulling the pellicle frame 102 or the photomask 100 toward one or the other of the first and second holding mechanisms 11, 12 in an almost normal direction to the adhesion faces. By heating the adhesion faces as well as relatively rotating the holding mechanisms 11, 12 by a predetermined angle parallel to the adhesion faces, the pellicle frame 102 is peeled from the photomask 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pellicle peeling apparatus and method for peeling a pellicle assembly formed by holding a pellicle film by a pellicle frame bonded to a photomask from the photomask.

  The pellicle assembly is provided, for example, in a photomask for exposing and forming an integrated circuit on a silicon wafer or the like in a semiconductor manufacturing process, and prevents foreign matters such as dust from adhering to the photomask. Usually, the pellicle frame is bonded to the photomask with an adhesive.

  FIG. 12 shows a state in which the pellicle assembly 101 is mounted on the photomask 100. The pellicle assembly 101 includes, for example, a rectangular pellicle frame 102 made of a metal such as aluminum, and is stretched on one side of the pellicle frame 102. A transparent pellicle film 103 is provided. The other surface P of the pellicle frame 102 opposite to the side where the pellicle film 103 is stretched is adhered to the photomask 100 with an adhesive, and covers the exposure formation region of the photomask 100. A pair of small jig holes 105 are formed on the left and right side surfaces (long side surfaces) of the pellicle frame 102, respectively.

  The pecryl assembly 101 may need to be peeled even after it is once attached to the photomask 100.

  For example, when the pecryl assembly 101 is mounted on the photomask 100, it cannot be mounted at the correct position due to human error, or fine foreign matter is mixed between the pellicle assembly 101 and the photomask 100. In such a case, it is necessary to peel off the pellicle assembly 101 from the photomask 100 and mount the pellicle assembly 101 again at a correct position, or remove the foreign matter and then mount it.

  Even when the pellicle assembly 101 is mounted at the correct position, the pellicle film 103 deteriorates due to the influence of exposure light having a short wavelength while the photomask 100 is used, and the life of the pellicle film 103 may be deteriorated. Therefore, the pellicle assembly 101 may be replaced, or the pellicle assembly 101 may be peeled off to clean the photomask 100.

  Conventionally, when the pellicle assembly 101 is peeled from the photomask 100, a few drops of diluted alcohol solution (IPA, acetone, methanol, etc.) are applied to the bonding surface P between the photomask 100 and the pellicle frame 102 and bonded. After weakening the force, for example, various jigs were inserted into the bonding surface P, and the pellicle frame 102 was peeled off from the photomask 100 by the lever principle.

Also, an apparatus has been developed that uses a peeling solution instead of manual work and mechanically peels the pellicle frame from the photomask by a pulling means (Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-175356

  As in the former case, after applying the alcohol solution to the adhesive surface and then peeling off manually using the lever principle, the adhesive is dissolved by the alcohol solution, so the photomask surface on which the integrated circuit pattern is drawn is removed. If the peeling jig is manually pressed against the surface of an expensive photomask, the surface of the photomask may be scratched or contaminated.

  In the latter method, the solution is supplied to the adhesive surface and the pellicle frame is mechanically peeled off from the photomask only by the pulling mechanism. Therefore, it is necessary to use a solution that does not contaminate the photomask. Even if you try to remove the photomask from the photomask, the selection of the location where the tensile force is applied and the tensile load will be complicated, and the pellicle frame and the photomask will be suddenly separated. Take it.

(Object of invention)
The object of the present invention is to use a simple apparatus without using a solution that degrades the adhesive strength of the adhesive, such as an alcohol solution, and without applying excessive bending stress to the photomask or pellicle frame. It is another object of the present invention to provide a pellicle peeling apparatus and method for peeling a pellicle frame from a photomask.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is directed to a pellicle peeling apparatus for peeling a pellicle assembly having a pellicle film held by a pellicle frame bonded to the photomask from the photomask. A first holding mechanism for holding a mask; a second holding mechanism for holding the pellicle frame; a heating device for heating an adhesive surface between the pellicle frame and the photomask; and the first and second At least one of the holding mechanisms, and a rotating mechanism that rotates substantially parallel to the bonding surface with respect to the other. The heating device is heated by the heating device, and the one holding mechanism Is rotated by a predetermined angle with respect to the other holding mechanism, and the pellicle frame is peeled off from the photomask.

  According to the above configuration, the pellicle frame is peeled off from the photomask by softening the adhesive on the bonding surface by heating and rotating the photomask and the pellicle frame relatively in parallel with the bonding surface. Conventionally, the photomask is not contaminated by melting the adhesive with various solutions, and the photomask is not deformed or damaged without applying an excessive bending load to the photomask. The pellicle frame can be easily peeled off.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle peeling apparatus according to the first aspect, the rotation mechanism is provided in the second holding mechanism that holds the pellicle frame.

  Usually, the photomask is used continuously by replacing the pellicle assembly, while the pellicle assembly is often discarded after being peeled from the photomask, but holds the photomask as described above. If the first holding mechanism is provided with a rotation mechanism and the peeling operation is performed by rotating only the pellicle assembly with respect to the fixed photomask, there is a possibility that an excessive bending load or the like may be applied to the photomask. Further, it can be reduced, and the risk of scratching the photomask is further reduced.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle peeling apparatus according to the first or second aspect, at least one of the first and second holding mechanisms is a pellicle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bonding surface. A pulling mechanism for pulling the frame or the photomask is provided. The holding mechanism is relatively rotated by the rotating mechanism, and the holding mechanism is pulled apart by the pulling mechanism.

  According to the above configuration, since the photomask and the pellicle frame are separated by relative rotation and simultaneously separated from each other, the possibility of scratches on the photomask is further reduced, and the adhesive remaining on the pellicle frame The possibility of contaminating the photomask surface can also be reduced.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the peeling apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the heating device is configured to heat the adhesive surface from the photomask side.

  When heating the adhesive, if the temperature of the pellicle frame rises too much compared to the photomask, the adhesive may remain on the photomask when it is peeled off. Then, in most cases, the temperature rise of the pellicle frame can be suppressed lower than that of the photomask. Thereby, when peeled, the adhesive can be left on the pellicle frame side, the adhesive is prevented from remaining on the photomask, and the photomask can be easily reused.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the peeling device according to the fourth aspect, a ceramic heater is provided as a heating device.

  According to the above configuration, the ceramic heater heats the object by radiant heat, so when heated from the photomask side, the nearer photomask always becomes hotter than the pellicle assembly, and the adhesive is on the high temperature side. The photomask can be easily peeled off, the adhesive can be left on the pellicle frame side, and the photomask can be easily reused.

  Incidentally, when a heating device using light as a heat source, such as a halogen lamp, is provided, the light transmitted from the transparent portion of the photomask hits the pellicle frame even when heated from the photomask side. In general, the surface of the pellicle frame is black, and black easily absorbs light. Therefore, if the amount of transmitted light is large, the temperature of the pellicle frame may be equal to or higher than the temperature of the photomask. Then, the adhesive easily peels off from the pellicle frame, and the adhesive remains on the surface of the photomask, so that the adhesive needs to be removed and washed in order to reuse (recycle) the photomask.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle peeling apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the warming device includes a temperature adjusting mechanism.

  According to the above configuration, the peeling operation is performed by setting a temperature at which the adhesive can be softened without causing a thermal change in the photomask according to the type or strength of the adhesive or the material of the photomask. be able to.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a pellicle peeling method in which a pellicle assembly in which a pellicle film is held by a pellicle frame bonded to the photomask is peeled from the photomask, and the photomask is held by a first holding mechanism. At the same time, the pellicle frame is held by a second holding mechanism, and the rotating surface is used to heat at least one of the two holding mechanisms while the bonding surface between the pellicle frame and the photomask is heated by a heating device. On the other hand, the pellicle peeling method is characterized in that the pellicle frame is peeled off from the photomask by rotating substantially parallel to the bonding surface.

  According to the said structure, the effect similar to the case of the said Claim 1 is acquired.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the pellicle peeling method according to the sixth aspect, the two holding mechanisms are relatively rotated, and at least one or the other of the holding mechanisms is attached to the adhesive surface by a pulling mechanism. The pellicle peeling method is characterized in that the pellicle frame is peeled off from the photomask by pulling the pellicle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface.

  According to the said structure, the effect similar to the invention of Claim 2 is acquired.

1 to 11 show an embodiment of a pellicle peeling apparatus according to the present invention, which will be described with reference to these drawings.
[Overview of the entire pellicle peeling device]
1 is an overall schematic perspective view of the pellicle peeling apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of each mechanism in the pellicle peeling apparatus. For convenience of explanation, as shown by the arrow “front” in FIG. 1, the front side where the worker is located is called “front” of the pellicle isolation device, and the left-right direction seen from the front side is the left-right direction of the pellicle peeling device This will be described below.

  In FIG. 1, a substantially horizontal bed 2 is provided at the upper end of the pedestal 1 of the pellicle peeling apparatus, and a box-shaped stainless steel hood 3 is slidably provided in the left-right direction. A first holding mechanism 11 for holding the photomask 100 is provided. The hood 3 is provided with a heating device 7 composed of a plurality of ceramic heaters 6 on the lower surface of the ceiling wall, and as shown by a solid line, the hood 3 is positioned on the right side on the gantry 1 and exposes the photomask 100; As indicated by phantom lines, the position can be changed to a closed position (use position) A2 that slides to the left on the gantry 1 and covers the first holding mechanism 11.

  A box portion 8 for storing a control device or the like is provided on the front side of the gantry 1, and in the gantry 1, the pellicle assembly is formed from the photomask 100 in cooperation with the first holding mechanism 11 and the heating device 7. Various mechanisms for peeling 101 are accommodated. That is, in FIG. 2, the second holding mechanism 12 for holding the pellicle frame 102 of the pellicle assembly 101, the turning mechanism 13 for turning the pellicle frame 102 by a predetermined angle, and the pellicle frame 102 downward. And a pulling mechanism 14 for pulling to the right. Further, a collection tray 90 and a tray support guide plate 91 for collecting the peeled pellicle assembly 101 are also stored.

[Heating device]
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of the hood 3. The heating device 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. In FIG. 1, for example, six ceramic heaters 6 constituting the heating device 7 are provided and arranged in two rows in the front and rear and three rows in the left and right, and emit radiant heat downward as shown in FIG. 3. The hood 3 is attached to the lower surface of the ceiling wall. In the present embodiment, the first holding mechanism 11 (FIG. 1) is configured to support the photomask 100 with the pellicle assembly 101 facing downward, so as shown in FIG. By disposing 6 on the lower surface of the ceiling wall of the hood 3, the photomask 100 is heated from the side opposite to the pellicle assembly mounting side (upper side). The heating temperature of the ceramic heater 6 is adjustable. For example, the ceramic heater 6 is connected to a temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the temperature of the photomass 100 on the first holding mechanism 11 and the temperature of the bonding surface P is 50 °. The photomask 100 is controlled to be heated until reaching a predetermined temperature within a range of about ~ 130 ° C. The temperature of 50 ° C to 130 ° C is a temperature at which the adhesive softens. A heater capacity of about 150 ° to 200 ° C. is used. In FIG. 3, a heat insulating material 17 is attached to the inner surfaces of the front and rear walls of the hood 3.

[First holding mechanism 11 for holding photomask 100]
4 is a plan view of the first holding mechanism 11, and FIG. 5 is a VV sectional view of FIG. 4. The first holding mechanism 11 will be described in detail with reference to these drawings and FIG. In FIG. 1, the first holding mechanism 11 includes a support plate 21 fixed substantially horizontally on the bed 2 via four spacers 20, and four photomasks disposed on the support plate plate 21. The four holding portions 22 are configured to hold the four corner portions of the photomask 100 with the pellicle assembly.

  In FIG. 4, a square hole 25 is formed in the center of the support plate 21, and the holding table 22 is fixed to the four corners of the hole 25 with screws 23. Each holding base 22 has an L-shaped notch 24, and the end face 24a of each L-shaped notch 24 parallel to the left-right width center line C1 of the hole 25 goes downward as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the inclined surface 24a protrudes toward the center line C1. The space | interval of the left-right direction and the front-back direction of the right-and-left holding stand 22 can be adjusted by loosening the said screw 23 and moving each holding stand 22 right and left or front-back.

  The left and right edges of the photomask 100 are supported on the upper ends of the inclined surfaces 24 a of the four holding bases 22, and the photomask 100 is predetermined by the respective end surfaces of the L-shaped notches 24 so as not to move back and forth and left and right. Held in the position.

  5, in the vicinity of the left and right ends of the square hole 25, a light transmission type peeling completion confirmation sensor 26 is disposed at a position separated from the lower surface of the support plate 21 by a predetermined distance. The confirmation sensor 26 detects the pellicle frame 102 that is peeled off from the photomask 100. One of the pair of peeling completion confirmation sensors 26 has a light emitting element, and the other has a light receiving element.

[Second holding mechanism 12 for holding pellicle frame 102]
6 is a plan view of the second holding mechanism 12, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6. The second holding mechanism 12 will be described in detail with reference to these drawings and FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the second holding mechanism 12 is supported by a substantially horizontal rectangular table 31 and a pair of front and rear guide rails 32 laid on the upper surface of the table 31 so as to be movable in the left-right direction via a slider 33. A pair of left and right moving platforms 34, a pair of front and rear chuck claws 35 on each moving platform 34, and a lead screw for moving the left and right moving platforms 34 symmetrically with respect to the center line C1 of the left and right widths. 37, a drive motor 38 for rotating the lead screw 37, and the like. The guide rail 32 and the slider 33 constitute a so-called LM guide device.

  A central portion of the table 31 is fixed to an upper end portion of a vertical rotation shaft 40 via a cylindrical joint 41 so that the table 31 rotates about the rotation axis O1 integrally with the rotation shaft 40 and moves up and down. It has become.

  The lead screw 37 extends in the left-right direction, and both left and right end portions are rotatably supported by the table 31 via bearings 42. One end of the lead screw 37 is linked to the output shaft of the drive motor 38 via a belt transmission mechanism 43.

  In FIG. 6, a left screw 37a and a right screw 37b are respectively formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the left and right portions of the lead screw 37, and both the left and right screws 37a and 37b are formed on each moving base 34. Screwed into the part. That is, by rotating the single lead screw 37, both the moving bases 34 are moved symmetrically simultaneously with the vertical plane passing through the left-right width center line O1 as a symmetry plane.

  In FIG. 7, the table 31 is disposed below the hole 25 of the first holding mechanism 11, and the rotation axis O <b> 1 of the rotation shaft 40 passes through the left and right width center line C <b> 1 of the first holding mechanism 11. Is located. Each chuck claw 35 is fixed to the tip of a support rod 46 extending in the left-right direction, and a small grip pin 47 protruding toward the left-right width center line C1 is provided at the upper end of the grip surface of each chuck claw 35. The positioning pins 47 can be engaged with the jig holes 105 formed on the left and right side walls of the pellicle frame 102.

  The support rod 46 is supported by the support hole 50 of the moving table 34 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and is urged by the compression spring 51 toward the left-right width center line C1 side, so that the flange 46a contacts the step surface of the support hole 50. It is locked by touching. The spring 51 is housed in a spring chamber 52 formed in the movable table 34 and is contracted between a plug 55 that closes the spring chamber 52 and the flange 46a. The distal end portion of the support rod 46 can project from the plug 55 to the side opposite to the lateral center line C1 side, and a light transmission type chucking confirmation sensor 57 is disposed in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the support rod 46. Has been. The chucking confirmation sensor 57 is attached to the moving table 34 and moves in the left-right direction together with the moving table 34. That is, the support rod 46 compresses the compression spring 51 from the locking position in FIG. However, when it moves relatively to the opposite side to the lateral center line C1, the end portion of the support rod 46 protruding from the plug 55 is detected by the chucking confirmation sensor 57, whereby the pellicle frame 102 is detected with a predetermined gripping force. Confirm that you have gripped.

[Rotation mechanism 13 for rotating the second holding mechanism 12]
8 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the rotation mechanism 13 and the pulling mechanism 14, FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view illustrating the operation of the rotation mechanism, and FIG. 10 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the pulling mechanism. The turning mechanism 13 and the pulling mechanism 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the rotation mechanism 13 includes a rotation plate 60 fixed to the lower end portion of the rotation shaft 40, a rotation drive motor 64, a lower eccentric plate 62 including an eccentric roller 63, The upper eccentric plate 61 is connected to the lower eccentric plate 62 and is fixed to the motor shaft 64a of the drive motor 64. The rotating plate 60 has a mounting hole 60 a at one end in the length direction, and the mounting hole 60 a is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft 40, whereby the rotating plate 60 rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 40. It is designed to rotate around the dynamic axis O1. The drive motor 64 is arranged in parallel with the rotation shaft 40, and the upper eccentric plate 61 is fixed to the motor shaft 64a protruding downward as described above, and the upper eccentric plate 61 is integrated with the motor shaft 64a. It is designed to rotate. The lower eccentric plate 62 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper eccentric plate 61, and the eccentric roller 63 is provided at a position eccentric from the motor shaft O 2, and is integrated with the upper eccentric plate 61. The motor rotates around the motor shaft O2. The eccentric roller 63 is engaged with a long hole 65 formed at the other end in the length direction of the rotating plate 60 so as to be movable in the hole length direction.

  That is, in FIG. 8, the rotation of the motor shaft 64a causes the eccentric plates 61 and 62 to rotate around the motor shaft O2, and the eccentric roller 63 turns around the motor shaft O2, and the long hole 65 and the eccentric are rotated. Due to the cam action with the roller 63, the rotation plate 60 reciprocates by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis O1, so that the rotation shaft 40 and the table 31 of the second holding mechanism 12 have a predetermined angle. It rotates around the rotation axis O1.

  The lower eccentric plate 62 is fixed to the upper eccentric plate 61 with bolts 69. The bolt 69 is loosened, and a plurality of adjustment screws 68 screwed into the peripheral wall of the upper eccentric plate 61 are rotated. By adjusting, the position of the lower eccentric plate 62 relative to the upper eccentric plate 61 can be adjusted. Thereby, the eccentric amount of the motor shaft O1 and the shaft O3 of the eccentric roller 63 can be adjusted, and the rotation amount of the rotation shaft 41 can be adjusted.

[Tensioning mechanism 14 for pulling the second holding mechanism 12]
FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of the pulling mechanism 14 of the second holding mechanism 12. The pulling mechanism 14 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 8 and the like.

  In FIG. 2, the pulling mechanism 14 includes the rotating shaft 40, an L-shaped lever 74 that supports the rotating shaft 40 so that the rotating shaft 40 can be lifted from below, and a cam that rotates the L-shaped lever 74 around a support shaft 75. 76, a drive motor 77 that rotates the cam 76, and the like.

  In FIG. 8, the rotation shaft 40 is supported by a support cylinder 72 fixed in a substantially vertical posture on a lower support plate 71 in the pellicle peeling apparatus via a bush 73 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable. The total weight of the rotary shaft 40 and the second holding mechanism 12 is used for lowering, and the lifting roller 78 at the tip of the lateral lever portion 74b of the L-shaped lever 74 is shown in FIG. It is supported from below at the ascending position (reference position).

  The L-shaped lever 74 has the horizontal lever portion 74b and a vertical lever portion 74a extending upward from the support shaft 75. A roller-shaped cam follower 80 is provided in the middle of the vertical lever portion 74a. The roller cam follower 80 is in contact with the cam surface of the cam 76. Further, one end of a tension cylinder 82 and a tension coil spring 83 is engaged with the upper end portion of the longitudinal lever portion 74 a, and the L-shaped lever 74 is moved around the support shaft 75 by both the cylinder 82 and the coil spring 83. The roller-type cam follower 80 is pressed against the cam surface of the cam 76, and the rotating shaft 40 is maintained at the raised position (reference position) as shown in FIG. In addition, as a member for urging the L-shaped lever 74 in the direction of the arrow K1 around the support shaft 75, a structure including only one of the tension coil spring 83 and the tension cylinder 82 may be employed.

  When the cam 76 is rotated by the drive motor 77, the L-shaped lever 74 rotates in the direction of the arrow K2 against the cylinder 82 and the coil spring 83, and the lifting roller 78 at the tip of the lateral lever portion 74b is lowered. As the elevating roller 78 is lowered, the second holding mechanism 12 such as the rotating shaft 40 and the table 31 is lowered by their own weight.

  Further, when the drive motor 77 is further rotated from the state in which the elevating roller 78 is lowered, the cam crest of the cam 76 is separated from the cam follow 80, so that the L-shaped lever 74 is moved in the arrow K1 direction by the cylinder 82 and the coil spring 83. Returning to the original position, the rotary shaft 40 is raised again.

  The drive motor 77 of the tension mechanism 14 is provided with a current sensor to prevent overload. When the current value of the drive motor 77 increases to a set value or more during the tension operation, for example, the drive motor 77 is By stopping, the pulling operation is interrupted, and an excessive load is prevented from being applied to the photomask 100. That is, when the pellicle frame 102 is difficult to peel off from the photomask 100 during the peeling operation, the photomask 100 is prevented from being deformed or damaged by preventing an excessive load from being applied.

[Configuration of collection tray 90, etc.]
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the collection tray 90. The structure of the collection tray 90 and the like will be described with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. In FIG. 2, the support guide plate 91 is supported via a pair of front and rear spacers 93 so as not to enter the movement range of the left and right moving platforms 34 on the upper surface of the left and right width central portion of the guide rail 32 of the table 31. The collection tray 90 is inserted on the support guide plate 91 so as to be freely inserted and removed from the front. A handle 90 a is formed at the front end of the collection tray 90. In FIG. 11, the support guide plate 91 is disposed at a position corresponding to the hole 25 of the support plate 21 of the first holding mechanism 11, and rotates around the rotation axis O <b> 1 together with the rotation shaft 40 and the table 31. And move up and down.

[Outline of Pellicle Assembly Peeling Method]
First, the concept of the peeling method of the pellicle assembly in the present embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, the photomask 100 is fixed in both directions parallel and perpendicular to the bonding surface P, and the photomask 100 is heated from the side opposite to the pellicle assembly 101 side, whereby the bonding surface P is heated. The temperature is raised to about 50 ° to 130 ° C., thereby softening the adhesive. Next, the pellicle frame 102 is pulled with a predetermined load in a direction Y1 away from the photomask 100 in a direction perpendicular to the bonding surface P, and the pellicle frame 102 is moved around the rotation axis O1 substantially parallel to the bonding surface P. It rotates by a predetermined angle to either X1 or X2. As a result, the pellicle frame 102 is peeled off from the photomask 100 without applying extra stress to the surface of the photomask 100.

[Pellicle peeling work by the pellicle peeling apparatus of the embodiment]
(1) In FIG. 1, the hood 3 is opened to the right open position A1, and the photomask 100 with the pellicle assembly 101 facing downward is placed on the four holding bases 22 of the first holding mechanism 11. As shown in FIG. 4, since the four corners of the photomask 100 are placed on the four holding bases 22, the photomask 100 is restricted from moving back and forth and left and right by the end surfaces of the L-shaped notches 24 of the holding bases 22. At the same time, the rotation around the rotation axis O1 is also restricted. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. It is accurately positioned in the left-right width direction. That is, the photomask 100 is held at a normal position where the center of the left and right width is aligned with the left and right width center line C1 of the hole 25 of the support board 21.

(2) The hood 3 in FIG. 1 is slid to the closed position A2, covers the photomask 100, and a start button or the like is pressed to start the peeling operation.

(3) By pressing the start button, first, in FIG. 3, the ceramic heater 6 of the heating device 7 generates heat, and the photomask 101 in the hood 3 is heated from above. When the temperature sensor (not shown) detects that the temperature of the bonding surface P between the pellicle frame 102 and the photomask 100 has reached the set temperature within the range of 50 ° to 130 ° C., the ceramic heater 6 The heating work by is finished.

(4) Next, in FIG. 2, the drive motor 38 of the second holding mechanism 12 is operated, and the two moving bases 34 are moved toward each other by the screw feeding action of the lead screw 37. That is, both the moving bases 34 move from the state shown in FIG. 7 so as to approach each other, the left and right chuck claws 35 come into contact with the left and right side surfaces of the pellicle frame 102, and the gripping pins 47 engage with the jig holes 105. . Further, the left and right moving bases 34 move toward each other, whereby the compression spring 51 in the moving base 34 is compressed, and the gripping force of the pellicle frame 102 by the chuck claws 35 increases. When the gripping force of the chuck claw 35 reaches a predetermined magnitude, the chucking confirmation sensor 57 detects the end of the support rod 46, and the moving base 34 stops. As a result, the pellicle frame 102 is gripped with a predetermined gripping force, and the chucking operation is completed.

(5) Subsequently, when the drive motor 77 of the pulling mechanism 14 of FIG. 2 is driven and the cam 76 rotates, as shown in FIG. 10, the L-shaped lever 74 rotates in the direction of the arrow K2, and the lift roller 78 descends. As the elevating roller 78 is lowered, the weight of the rotating shaft 40 and the second holding mechanism 12 shown in FIG. 7 is applied to the pellicle frame 102 via the chuck claws 35. That is, a downward tensile load is applied to the pellicle frame 102.

(6) After applying a tensile load to the pellicle frame 102 as described above, or simultaneously, the drive motor 64 of the rotation mechanism 13 in FIG. 2 is operated to rotate the eccentric plates 61 and 62 around the motor axis O2. As shown in FIG. 9, the rotating plate 60 and the rotating shaft 40 are rotated in the X1 direction by a predetermined angle α1 (for example, 5 °) from the original position B0 through the eccentric roller 63 and the long hole 65. Rotate to B1. As a result, the pellicle frame 102 also rotates about the rotation axis O1 by a predetermined angle α1.

(7) In FIG. 2, as described above, a downward tensile load is applied to the pellicle frame 102 and the pellicle frame 102 is quickly removed from the photomask 100 by rotating by a predetermined angle parallel to the bonding surface P. Is peeled downward. The peeling of the pellicle frame 102 can be achieved only by rotating the pellicle frame 102 from the original position B0 in FIG. 9 to one rotation position B1, but depending on the type of adhesive, It is also possible to rotate to the opposite rotational position by a predetermined angle α2, thereby enabling more reliable peeling.

(8) When the pellicle frame 102 is peeled, the pellicle frame 102 is lowered together with the rotary shaft 40 and the table 31 and detected by the peeling completion confirmation sensor 26 shown in FIG. The completion of peeling is informed.

(9) When the operator confirms the completion of peeling and presses a work end button or the like, the second holding mechanism 12, the turning mechanism 13 and the pulling mechanism 14 in FIG. 2 are all in a state before the peeling work. Return to. That is, the rotation plate 60 shown in FIG. 9 returns to the original position B0, and thereby the second holding mechanism 12 also returns to the original rotation position. Further, the movable table 34 of the second holding mechanism 12 also returns to the left and right to the original position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the cam 76 and the L-shaped lever 74 of the pulling mechanism 14 shown in FIG. Returning to the position, the rotating shaft 40 is returned to the raised position.

(10) Finally, the operator opens the hood 3 of FIG. 1 and takes out the photomask 100 after peeling. On the other hand, as described above, the peeled pellicle frame 102 falls onto the collection tray 90 in FIG. 11 when the movable table 34 of the second holding mechanism 12 opens to the left and right to the original position. Accordingly, the worker pulls the collection tray 90 forward, and collects the peeled pellicle frame 102.

[Main effects of the embodiment]
(1) According to the embodiment, by heating the photomask 100 with the heating device 7, the adhesive on the bonding surface P between the pellicle frame 102 and the photomask 100 is softened, and the pulling mechanism 14 The pellicle frame 102 is rotated substantially parallel to the bonding surface P while applying a downward tensile load to the pellicle frame 102, and the pellicle frame 102 is peeled off from the photomask 100. Thus, an adhesive using a solution as in the prior art The pellicle frame 102 can be easily peeled without causing contamination of the photomask 100 due to melting of the photomask 100 and without applying an excessive bending load to the photomask 100.

(2) In particular, by applying a tensile load to the pellicle frame 102, the photomask 100 and the pellicle frame 102 are separated from each other at the same time as peeling, further reducing the possibility of scratches and the like on the photomask. be able to.

(3) Normally, the photomask 100 is continuously used by replacing the pellicle assembly 101. On the other hand, the pellicle assembly 101 is often discarded after being peeled from the photomask 100. When the peeling operation is performed by rotating only the pellicle frame 102 with respect to the fixed photomask 100 as in the embodiment, the possibility that an excessive bending load or the like is applied to the photomask 100 is further reduced. And the risk of scratching the photomask is further reduced.

(4) Since the photomask 100 is heated from the side opposite to the pellicle assembly 101 side by the heating device 7, in most cases, the temperature rise of the pellicle frame 102 is suppressed to be lower than that of the photomask 100. Thus, the adhesive can be left on the pellicle frame 102 side at the time of peeling, preventing the adhesive from remaining on the photomask 100, facilitating the cleaning of the photomask 100, and reusing the photomask 100. It becomes easy to use. In particular, if the heating device 7 is provided with a ceramic heater that heats an object by radiant heat, even when the pellicle frame 102 having a black surface is used when heated from the photomask 100 side, it is always necessary. The nearer photomask 100 can be heated to a temperature higher than that of the pellicle frame 102, and the effect of the heating can be reliably achieved.

(5) Since the L-shaped lever 74 is used as the pulling mechanism 14 and the drive motor 77 and the cam 76 are disposed on the side of the rotating shaft 40, the height of the peeling device can be made compact. .

  Since the gripping force of the pellicle frame 102 by the chuck claws 35 is applied by the compression spring 51, a situation in which the pellicle frame 102 is gripped by an excessive gripping force can be prevented, and a dimensional error of the pellicle frame 102 is large. The pellicle frame 102 can always be gripped with a predetermined appropriate gripping force.

[Other embodiments]
(1) In the above embodiment, the rotation mechanism and the pulling mechanism are provided in the second holding mechanism that holds the pellicle frame, but the rotation mechanism and the pulling mechanism are provided in the first holding mechanism that holds the photomask. It can also be set as the structure provided.

(2) Both the first and second holding mechanisms may be provided with a rotating mechanism and a pulling mechanism, respectively. Further, a rotating mechanism is provided in one holding mechanism, and the other holding mechanism is provided in the other holding mechanism. A structure in which a pulling mechanism is provided may be employed.

(3) Depending on the type of photomask, it is also possible to adopt a structure or method in which only one of the first and second holding mechanisms is provided with a rotation mechanism and the film is peeled only by rotation.

(4) The first and second holding mechanisms, the rotation mechanism, and the pulling mechanism are not limited to the structure of the above-described embodiment, and may include various structures that can be considered by those skilled in the art.

(5) As shown in FIG. 13, it is possible to provide a heating device 7 that heats from the photomask 100 side and a cooling device 120 that cools only the pellicle frame 102. A plurality of cooling devices 120 are arranged around the pellicle frame 102 and spray cooling liquid or cooling air on the pellicle frame 102 to cool it. In this way, the temperature difference between the photomask 100 and the pellicle frame 102 is increased by heating the bonding surface from the photomask 100 side and simultaneously cooling the pellicle frame 102, so that the softened adhesive is applied to the pellicle frame 102. The pellicle frame 102 can be quickly peeled from the photomask 100 without detaching from the photomask 100. In addition to the spray-type cooling device 120 described above, it is also possible to use a device having a cooling water pipe through which cooling water or the like is circulated.

(6) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the inclined surface 24a is formed on the holding member 22 that holds the photomask 100 to hold the photomask 100. It is not necessary to form it on the surface, and it is also possible to form a structure in which a horizontal surface 24b is formed on the holding member 22 and the photomask 100 is held on the horizontal surface 24b as shown in FIG.

(7) The light transmission type peeling completion confirmation sensor 26 shown in FIG. 5 of the above embodiment blocks the detection light beam when the pellicle frame 102 is peeled and lowered, thereby confirming the isolation of the pellicle frame 102. However, the opposite configuration is also possible. That is, as indicated by reference numeral 126 in FIG. 10, a peeling completion confirmation sensor 126 is arranged at a position where the pellicle frame 102 before peeling blocks the detection light beam, and after peeling, the pellicle frame 102 descends, It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the blockage is released and thereby the isolation of the pellicle frame 102 is confirmed.

1 is an overall schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a pellicle peeling apparatus according to the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of each mechanism in the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. It is a vertical side view of the hood of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. It is a top view of the 1st holding mechanism of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. It is VV sectional drawing of FIG. It is a top view of the 2nd holding mechanism of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. It is VII-VII sectional drawing of FIG. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional schematic of the turning mechanism and pulling mechanism of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an operation of a rotation mechanism of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the action | operation of the pulling mechanism of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the collection | recovery tray of the pellicle peeling apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the pellicle assembly peeled with the pellicle peeling apparatus of this invention. It is a vertical side view of the hood of the pellicle peeling apparatus provided with a cooling apparatus for the pellicle frame together with the heating apparatus, which is a modification of the present invention. It is another modification of this invention, and is sectional drawing similar to the said FIG.

Explanation of symbols

11 First holding mechanism for holding photomask 12 Second holding mechanism for holding pellicle frame 13 Rotating mechanism 14 Pulling mechanism 40 Rotating shaft 60 Rotating plate

Claims (8)

In a pellicle peeling apparatus for peeling a pellicle assembly formed by holding a pellicle film with a pellicle frame bonded to the photomask from the photomask,
A first holding mechanism for holding the photomask;
A second holding mechanism for holding the pellicle frame;
A heating device for heating the bonding surface between the pellicle frame and the photomask;
A rotation mechanism that rotates at least one of the first and second holding mechanisms with respect to the other substantially parallel to the adhesion surface;
The bonding surface is heated by the heating device, and the pellicle frame is peeled from the photomask by rotating the one holding mechanism by a predetermined angle with respect to the other holding mechanism. The pellicle peeling apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The pellicle peeling apparatus according to claim 1,
The pellicle peeling apparatus, wherein the rotation mechanism is provided in the second holding mechanism that holds the pellicle frame. In the pellicle peeling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
Of the first and second holding mechanisms, at least one or the other includes a pulling mechanism that pulls the pellicle frame or the photomask in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bonding surface,
A pellicle peeling apparatus characterized in that both holding mechanisms are relatively rotated by the rotating mechanism and the holding mechanisms are separated from each other by the pulling mechanism. In the pellicle peeling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The pellicle peeling device, wherein the heating device is configured to heat the adhesive surface from the photomask side. The pellicle peeling apparatus according to claim 4,
The pellicle peeling device, wherein the heating device is a ceramic heater. In the pellicle peeling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The pellicle peeling device, wherein the heating device includes a temperature adjustment mechanism. In the pellicle peeling method for peeling the pellicle assembly formed by holding the pellicle film by the pellicle frame bonded to the photomask from the photomask,
Holding the photomask by a first holding mechanism and holding the pellicle frame by a second holding mechanism;
While heating the bonding surface between the pellicle frame and the photomask with a heating device,
A pellicle peeling method, wherein the pellicle frame is peeled from the photomask by rotating at least one of the two holding mechanisms with respect to the other substantially parallel to the adhesive surface by a rotating mechanism. The pellicle peeling method according to claim 7,
Both the holding mechanisms are rotated relatively, and at least one or the other of the holding mechanisms is pulled in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bonding surface by a pulling mechanism, thereby removing the pellicle frame from the photomask. A pellicle peeling method characterized by peeling.

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