JP2008310230A - Exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure apparatus that can appropriately perform light shielding of a non-exposure region by using a light-shielding member upon carrying out pattern exposure by relatively moving a substrate and a mask. <P>SOLUTION: A light-shielding member 40 is retreated from between reflection faces 20a, 30a. In this case, light emitted from an exposure unit OPU is blocked by a mirror 20 in an irradiation region EL, but light reflected on the reflection face 20a of the mirror 20 irradiates the shadow portion of the mirror 20 via reflection faces 30a, 30b and 20b. Thereby, even when the mirror 20 is at any optional position of the irradiation region EL, it does not influence exposure in the exposure region ER, which suppresses exposure variance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, and more particularly to an exposure apparatus suitable for exposing and transferring a mask pattern of a mask onto a substrate of a large flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display.

Large flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays used in large thin televisions and the like are manufactured by proximity exposure transfer of a mask pattern onto a substrate by a divided sequential exposure method. As a conventional sequential sequential exposure apparatus of this type, for example, a mask smaller than the substrate as the material to be exposed is used, the mask is held on the mask stage and the substrate is held on the work stage, and both are placed close to each other. In this state, the work stage is moved stepwise with respect to the mask, and the substrate is exposed to light for pattern exposure from the mask side at each step, thereby exposing a plurality of mask patterns drawn on the mask onto the substrate. There is known one in which a plurality of displays and the like are created on a single substrate by transfer (see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-237744

  On the other hand, a so-called scanning exposure apparatus has been developed in which a mask is fixed and exposure is continuously performed while relatively moving a long glass substrate to form a plurality of panels. By the way, when a plurality of panels are cut out from a large glass substrate, an exposure pattern is exposed and transferred to an area on the glass substrate corresponding to the panel, but the area corresponding to between adjacent panels is exposed light. This is a non-exposed area that should not be irradiated. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide a light shielding member between the light source and the glass substrate so as to cover the non-exposed area so that the exposure light does not reach the non-exposed area.

  Here, in the scanning exposure apparatus, if a light-shielding member that can move in synchronization with the movement of the glass substrate is provided, it is possible to shield the non-exposure region sandwiched between the exposure regions. However, in general, since there are a plurality of non-exposure areas in a glass substrate, the next non-exposure area reaches the light-shielding member moved from the upstream side to the downstream side to shield one non-exposure area. However, there is a problem that the exposure amount is reduced by blocking the exposure area during that time.

  Therefore, in view of the problems of the related art, the present invention provides an exposure apparatus capable of appropriately shielding a non-exposed region using a light shielding member when pattern exposure is performed by relatively moving a substrate and a mask. Objective.

To achieve the above objective,
An irradiation unit that irradiates a predetermined irradiation range with light for exposure; and
A substrate drive unit that holds a substrate having an exposure region and a non-exposure region, and moves the exposure light emitted from the irradiation unit in a predetermined direction;
A first reflecting mirror that moves in synchronism with the movement of the substrate at least in the predetermined irradiation range, and reflects light directed from the irradiation unit toward the substrate outside the predetermined irradiation region;
A second reflecting mirror that is disposed outside the predetermined irradiation region and reflects light reflected by the first reflecting mirror into the predetermined irradiation region;
A light shielding member disposed between the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror;
When blocking the light of the irradiation unit toward the non-exposed region of the substrate, the light blocking member is moved to a position where the reflected light from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is blocked, When irradiating the light of the irradiation part toward the exposure area of the substrate, the light shielding member is moved to a position where the reflected light from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is not blocked. Features.

  According to the invention of the present application, a first reflecting mirror that moves in synchronization with the movement of the substrate at least in the predetermined irradiation range, and reflects light directed from the irradiation unit toward the substrate outside the predetermined irradiation region; A second reflecting mirror that is disposed outside the predetermined irradiation area and reflects light reflected by the first reflecting mirror into the predetermined irradiation area, the first reflecting mirror, and the second reflecting mirror A light-shielding member disposed between the first reflecting mirror and the second light-reflecting member when the light from the irradiation unit is shielded toward the non-exposed region of the substrate. When moving to a position where the reflected light going to the reflecting mirror is blocked and blocking the light of the irradiating part going to the non-exposed region of the substrate, the light shielding member is moved from the first reflecting mirror to the second Move to a position where the reflected light toward the reflector is blocked, and move toward the exposure area of the substrate. Then, when irradiating the light of the irradiation unit, the light shielding member is moved to a position where the reflected light traveling from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is not blocked. Only the non-exposed area can be shielded from light. Further, by arranging the first reflecting mirror, the shadow falls on the substrate, but if the light shielding member moves to a position where it does not block, the second reflection is reflected in the shadowed area. By irradiating the reflected light from the mirror, it is possible to irradiate the same amount of light as in the case where there is no first reflecting mirror, thereby suppressing variations in the exposure amount of the exposure region. Therefore, even when there are a large number of non-exposed areas on the substrate, the first reflecting mirror can be returned on the exposed area at an arbitrary timing, and all the light shielding members and the first reflecting mirror can return the first reflecting mirror. It is possible to achieve light shielding in non-exposed areas.

  A third reflecting mirror that reflects the light reflected by the second reflecting mirror toward the substrate is provided, and the first reflecting mirror and the third reflecting mirror are at an angle of 90 degrees. It is preferable that they are arranged at an angle.

  If a sub-light-shielding member that can enter or leave is provided between the first reflecting mirror and the third reflecting mirror, the shadow of the sub-light-shielding member disposed outside the predetermined irradiation region is removed. Can be erased.

  When the light shielding member moves to a position where the reflected light traveling from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is blocked, an edge of light traveling toward the boundary between the exposure area and the non-exposure area of the substrate is defined. If an edge blade is provided, blurring at the boundary can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a top view of the exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state during exposure of the exposure apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the following embodiments, the horizontal plane is defined by the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction defines the vertical direction.

  In FIG. 1, on a base 1, a large thin plate-like substrate W is gripped by a substrate chuck (substrate drive unit) 2 and can move from left to right along with a substrate chuck 2 along a rail 2a. On the base 1, there are seven holding devices 10 for sucking and holding the mask M on the left side (upstream side) and six on the right side (downstream side) across the mask transport line (also referred to as mask transport path) L (total). 13) are arranged. Compared to the substrate W held by the holding device 10, the small masks M are alternately arranged in a staggered manner with the mask transport line L in between. In FIG. 1, the seven holding devices 10 on the left side and the three holding devices 10 on the right side are in the exposure position, and the three holding devices 10 on the right side are in the mask delivery position. It is in.

  Each holding device 10 is in the X-axis direction on the base 1 in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 (the direction perpendicular to the mask transport line L in FIG. 1, and the substrate W is from left to right along the X-axis direction. The arm 11 is arranged so as to be movable with respect to a frame (not shown), the holding part 12 is arranged at the tip of the arm 11 and holds the mask M on the lower surface, and the arm 11. The Z-axis moving device 13 that drives the holding portion 12 in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2), the θ-axis moving device 14 that drives the holding portion 12 to rotate about the normal line of the upper surface of the base 1, and the arm 11 On the other hand, it has a Y-axis moving device 15 that drives the holding unit 12 in the Y-axis direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2). The holding part 12 has a rectangular opening (not shown). A discharge suction unit (not shown) is attached to the base 1 so as to face the lower surface of the substrate W.

  During an exposure operation performed using the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, the substrate W is moved together with the substrate chuck 2 from the left to the right along the rail 2a from a drive unit (not shown). At this time, the substrate W is transported in the X-axis direction in a state of floating from the upper surface of the discharge unit (not shown), and the lower surface side of the substrate W is prevented from being damaged.

  When the exposure light EL is projected from the light source LS in the upper exposure unit (irradiation unit) OPU while moving the substrate W to a predetermined position, the exposure light EL passes through the mask M held by the holding device 10. Then, the pattern is exposed and transferred to the substrate W. At this time, the shift of the pattern due to the movement error of the substrate W is corrected by finely adjusting the position of the mask M by the Z-axis moving device 13, the θ-axis moving device 14, and the Y-axis moving device 15 of the holding device 10. be able to. Similarly, pattern exposure can be performed on the entire substrate W by performing continuous exposure. In the present embodiment, since the masks M held on both sides of the mask transport line L are arranged in a staggered manner, even if the masks M on one side of the mask transport line L are arranged apart from each other, A pattern can be formed on the substrate W without a gap.

  By the way, when a plurality of panels are cut out from the substrate W, the exposure pattern is exposed and transferred to the region on the substrate W corresponding to the panel, but the region corresponding to between adjacent panels is irradiated with exposure light. This is a non-exposed area that should not be. Therefore, in this embodiment, a light shielding member and a reflecting mirror are provided to shield light so that light is not irradiated to the non-exposed area.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship among the light shielding member, the reflecting mirror, and the substrate, but the mask and the like are omitted. Hereinafter, for ease of understanding, the substrate is depicted as having only one row of exposure areas, but there are actually a plurality of rows.

  In FIG. 3, the mirror 20 having reflection surfaces 20a and 20b intersecting each other by 90 degrees is arranged in an irradiation region (predetermined irradiation range) EL irradiated from the exposure unit OPU. The mirror 20 extends perpendicular to the X-axis direction (that is, in the Y-axis direction), and is connected to a nut 22 of a ball screw mechanism via an arm 21. The nut 22 is engaged with a screw shaft 23 connected to a motor (not shown), and the mirror 20 can move in the movement direction (X-axis direction) of the substrate W together with the nut 22 by rotating the screw shaft 23. It has become. The reflecting surface 20a on the exposure unit OPU side is a first reflecting mirror, and the reflecting surface 20b on the substrate W side is a third reflecting mirror.

  The mirror 30 having reflection surfaces 30a and 30b intersecting each other by 90 degrees is fixed to a frame (not shown) outside the irradiation area EL. The reflective surfaces 20a and 30a are parallel to each other, and the reflective surfaces 20b and 30b are parallel to each other. Outside the irradiation area EL, the light shielding member 40 is disposed between the reflecting surfaces 20a and 30a so as to be able to enter or leave. The reflecting surfaces 30a and 30b are the second reflecting mirrors.

  The light shielding member 40 is connected to a nut 42 of a ball screw mechanism via an arm 41. The nut 42 is engaged with a screw shaft 43 connected to a motor (not shown). When the screw shaft 43 rotates, the light shielding member 40 can move in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) together with the nut 42. ing. An air cylinder may be used instead of the ball screw mechanism.

  Next, operations of the mirror 20 and the light shielding member 40 during exposure will be described. 4A is a view of the light shielding member, the reflecting mirror, the mask, and the substrate viewed from the side during light shielding, and FIG. 4B is a view of the substrate viewed from above. FIG. 5A is a view of the light shielding member, the reflecting mirror, the mask, and the substrate when not shielded from the side, and FIG. 5B is a view of the substrate viewed from above.

4 and 5, the substrate W is moved at a constant speed in the X-axis direction (rightward in the drawing) by a substrate driving unit (not shown). The upper surface of the substrate W is composed of an exposure area ER to be irradiated with exposure light and a non-exposure area NR to be shielded. First, the mirror 20 is disposed on the upstream side of the irradiation area EL. Here, when the non-exposure region NR passes through the irradiation region EL, the light shielding member 40 is caused to enter between the reflection surfaces 20a and 30a. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the reflected light from the reflecting surface 20a traveling parallel to the upper surface of the substrate W is blocked by the light blocking member 40, and does not reach the mask M and the substrate W. Since the non-exposure region NR moves downstream with the substrate W, exposure to the non-exposure region NR can be prevented by moving the mirror 20 in the same direction in synchronization with the substrate W.
The intrusion position of the light shielding member 40 is not limited to the position between the reflecting mirrors 20a and 30a, and may be any light shielding light such as between 30b and 20b.

  After the non-exposure area NR exits downstream from the irradiation area EL, the mirror 20 must be returned to the original position before the next non-exposure area comes. Therefore, the mirror 20 is moved in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the substrate W (upstream). At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the light blocking member 40 is moved between the reflecting surfaces 20a and 30a. Evacuate. In such a case, the mirror 20 blocks the light irradiated from the exposure unit OPU in the irradiation area EL, but the light reflected from the reflection surface 20a of the mirror 20 passes through the reflection surfaces 30a, 30b, and 20b. Irradiate the shadowed area. Thereby, even if the mirror 20 exists in the arbitrary positions of the irradiation area | region EL, it does not affect the exposure of the exposure area | region ER, but can suppress exposure variation. Thereafter, when the non-exposure area NR reaches the irradiation area EL, the same operation as described above is repeated. Note that the position of the light blocking member 40 is not limited to between the reflecting surfaces 20a and 30a, and may be any as long as it can block detour light transmitted between the mirrors 20 and 30, such as between the reflecting surfaces 30b and 20b. The position may be good. In order to block the detour light, at least one of the reflecting mirrors 30 may be rotated without using a light shielding member.

  6 and 7 are views similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 according to a modification of the present embodiment. In the present modification, when the non-exposure area NR is wide, the auxiliary light shielding members 50 and 60 are used supplementarily to block the light emitted from the exposure unit OPU. More specifically, the auxiliary light shielding members 50 and 60 can move in synchronization with the substrate W by a ball screw mechanism as in the mirror 20.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when shielding a wide non-exposure region NR, the light shielding member 40 is inserted between the reflecting surfaces 20 a and 30 a, and the plate-like sub light shielding member is adjacent to the mirror 20 on the downstream side. 50 and 60 are arranged side by side. Accordingly, a wide range of non-exposure areas can be shielded, and the mirror 20 and the sub-light shielding members 50 and 60 can be overlapped with each other and moved in synchronization with the substrate W, so A non-exposed region NR can be formed.

  On the other hand, when the mirror 20 is returned to the original position after the non-exposure area NR has slipped downstream from the irradiation area EL, the light shielding member 40 is retracted and the inner side of the mirror 20 is moved as shown in FIG. The auxiliary light shielding members 50 and 60 are accommodated in the space. Thereby, the sub light-shielding members 50 and 60 do not block the light emitted from the exposure unit OPU.

  8 and 9 are diagrams similar to FIGS. 4A and 5A according to another modification. In this modification, a pair of mirrors 20 are provided so that the back surfaces are aligned, and a pair of mirrors 30 are provided at positions corresponding to the respective reflecting surfaces 20a and 20b. Further, a light shielding portion 20c is formed obliquely upward from the lower end of the left mirror 20, and a light shielding portion 20c 'is formed obliquely downward from the upper end of the right mirror 20. Between the pair of mirrors 20, a sub light shielding member 50, which is a horizontally disposed plate material, is disposed so as to be movable in the transport direction of the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the pair of mirrors 20 are separated from each other, the light irradiated from the exposure unit OPU can be blocked by the light blocking portions 20c, 20c 'and the sub light blocking member 50. In this state, by moving the pair of mirrors 20 and the sub light-shielding member 50 in synchronization with the substrate W, a non-exposed region having an arbitrary length in the transport direction of the substrate W can be formed.

  On the other hand, when the mirror 20 and the sub-light-shielding member 50 are returned to the original position after the non-exposure area slips downstream from the irradiation area EL, as shown in FIG. The entire outer periphery becomes a reflection surface), and the light shielding members 20c and 20c ′ and the sub light shielding member 50 are accommodated therein. Thereby, the light shielding members 20c and 20c 'and the sub light shielding member 50 do not block the light irradiated from the exposure unit OPU.

  10A is a perspective view of a mirror provided with an edge blade according to another modified example, and FIGS. 10B and 10C are FIGS. 4A and 5A in the modified example. ). In FIG. 3, the edge blade 70 includes a pair of side plates 71 extending downward from the side surface of the mirror 20, and a thin thin blade portion 72 that horizontally bridges the lower ends of the pair of side plates 71.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 10B, the light shielding member 40 is inserted between the reflecting surfaces 20a and 30a. Then, the reflected light from the reflecting surface 20a is blocked by the light blocking member 40 and does not reach the mask M and the substrate W. The blade part 72 is disposed at a position that defines the edge of the shielded area, and since the distance d from the blade part 72 to the substrate W is small, the exposure light is prevented from wrapping around and the exposure area and the non-exposure are The boundary (edge) with the region can be clarified.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10 (c), when the light blocking member 40 is retracted from between the reflecting surfaces 20a and 30a, the mirror 20 blocks the light irradiated from the exposure unit OPU in the irradiation region EL. The light reflected from the reflection surface 20a of the mirror 20 is irradiated to the shadowed portion of the mirror 20 through the reflection surfaces 30a, 30b, and 20b. In such a case, the blade portion 72 is disposed at a position where the light is blocked. It is slight, and the decrease in the amount of light can be suppressed as much as possible.

  The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or improved as appropriate.

It is a top view of the exposure apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the state at the time of exposure of the exposure apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between a light shielding member, a reflective mirror, and a board | substrate. 4A is a view of the light shielding member, the reflecting mirror, the mask, and the substrate viewed from the side during light shielding, and FIG. 4B is a view of the substrate viewed from above. FIG. 5A is a view of the light shielding member, the reflecting mirror, the mask, and the substrate when not shielded from the side, and FIG. 5B is a view of the substrate viewed from above. It is a figure similar to FIG. 4 concerning the modification of this Embodiment. It is a figure similar to FIG. 5 concerning the modification of this Embodiment. It is a figure similar to Fig.4 (a) concerning another modification. It is a figure similar to Fig.5 (a) concerning another modification. 10A is a perspective view of a mirror provided with an edge blade according to another modified example, and FIGS. 10B and 10C are FIGS. 4A and 5A in the modified example. ).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base 2 Substrate chuck 2a Rail 10 Holding device 11 Arm 12 Holding portion 13 Z-axis moving device 14 θ-axis moving device 15 Y-axis moving device 20 Mirror 20a, 20b Reflecting surface 20c, 20c ′ Light-shielding portion 30 Mirror 30a, 30b Reflecting surface ER Exposure area LM1, LM2 Linear motor LS Light source M Mask NR Non-exposure area OPU Exposure unit W Substrate EL Irradiation area

Claims (4)

An irradiation unit that irradiates a predetermined irradiation range with light for exposure; and
A substrate drive unit that holds a substrate having an exposure region and a non-exposure region, and moves the exposure light emitted from the irradiation unit in a predetermined direction;
A first reflecting mirror that moves in synchronism with the movement of the substrate at least in the predetermined irradiation range, and reflects light directed from the irradiation unit toward the substrate outside the predetermined irradiation region;
A second reflecting mirror that is disposed outside the predetermined irradiation region and reflects light reflected by the first reflecting mirror into the predetermined irradiation region;
A light shielding member disposed between the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror;
When blocking the light of the irradiation unit toward the non-exposed region of the substrate, the light blocking member is moved to a position where the reflected light from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is blocked, When irradiating the light of the irradiation part toward the exposure area of the substrate, the light shielding member is moved to a position where the reflected light from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is not blocked. A featured exposure apparatus.   A third reflecting mirror that reflects the light reflected by the second reflecting mirror toward the substrate is provided, and the first reflecting mirror and the third reflecting mirror are at an angle of 90 degrees. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure apparatus is tilted.   The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sub-light-shielding member capable of entering or leaving is provided between the first reflecting mirror and the third reflecting mirror.   When the light shielding member moves to a position where the reflected light traveling from the first reflecting mirror toward the second reflecting mirror is blocked, an edge of light traveling toward the boundary between the exposure area and the non-exposure area of the substrate is defined. The exposure apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an edge blade is provided.