JP2009122597A - Laser direct drawing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser direct drawing apparatus that requires only a small installation area and can improve the process efficiency, even if images are drawn on both of top and back surfaces of a drawing object. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is provided with polygon mirrors (deflecting means) 6u, 6d and a holding frame (holding means) 30 holding a drawing object 10, while the top and back surfaces of the object 10 are exposed. Images are drawn simultaneously, on both the top and back surfaces of the drawing object 10, by scanning the top surface of the object 10 with a laser beam 5au by the polygon mirror 6u, and by scanning the back surface of the object 10 with a laser beam 5ad by the polygon mirror 6d. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, a laser beam is scanned in the X direction (main scanning direction) by a polygon mirror, and the object to be drawn is moved in the Y direction (sub-scanning direction) perpendicular to the X direction to form a desired pattern on the object to be drawn. The present invention relates to a laser direct drawing apparatus (LDI: Laser Direct Imaging) for drawing.

  In the laser direct drawing apparatus, the CAD data at the time of circuit pattern design is converted into vector data to calculate the contour line, and then converted into drawing raster data to obtain the ON / OFF pixel of the laser beam, and the laser is applied to the ON pixel. Irradiate.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional laser direct drawing apparatus.

  The laser source 1 is mounted on the optical base 16. The optical base 16 is disposed on a column 17 on the bed 18. A laser beam 5 output from the laser source 1 enters an acoustooptic device (hereinafter referred to as “AOM”) 4 through a mirror 2a, an expander 3, and a mirror 2b. The laser beam 5a modulated by the AOM 4 enters the polygon mirror 6 through the mirror 2c, is deflected by the polygon mirror 6, and enters the fθ lens 7. The laser beam 5 a that has passed through the fθ lens 7 is deflected downward by the folding mirror 8 and enters the cylindrical lens 9. Then, the laser beam 5a transmitted through the cylindrical lens 9 enters the drawing object 10, and draws (exposes) a dry film resist (hereinafter referred to as “DFR”), a photoresist, or the like on the drawing object 10. At this time, the table 12 on which the drawing object 10 is mounted moves at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction in the figure). The linear motor 14 moves the table 12. The pair of guides 13 guide the table 12 (Patent Document 1). The laser beam 5a is turned on / off according to a predetermined clock pulse.

  6A and 6B are diagrams showing the position of the start sensor, where FIG. 6A is a view seen from the X direction (main scanning direction of the laser beam 5a) in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a view seen from the Y direction in FIG. is there.

  A mirror 11 is disposed below the left end side of the cylindrical lens 9 in FIG. 5, and a start sensor 15 is disposed on the side where the reflected light from the mirror 11 is incident. In order to align the scanning start position for each row, drawing for one scan in the main scanning direction is started after a predetermined time after the start sensor 15 detects the laser beam 5a reflected by the mirror 11. In the illustrated case, the predetermined time is set so that the distance between the detection position and the drawing start position is 10 mm.

When it is necessary to draw both the front and back surfaces of the drawing object 10, first, either the front or back surface is drawn, and then the front and back surfaces of the drawing object 10 are reversed and the other surface is drawn. Inversion of the front and back may be performed manually, or inversion may be performed automatically by providing a reversing device. Also, two laser direct drawing apparatuses are provided, and after drawing the front side with one laser direct drawing apparatus, the front and back of the drawing object 10 are reversed by the reversing apparatus, and the back side is drawn with the other laser direct drawing apparatus. In some cases.
JP 2007-94122 A

  However, when drawing both the front and back surfaces of the drawing object, a process of inverting the drawing object is required at least, and therefore, one laser direct drawing apparatus cannot improve the processing efficiency. Further, when two laser direct drawing apparatuses are provided, the processing efficiency is not lowered, but not only the equipment cost is expensive, but also the installation area of the laser direct drawing apparatus is increased.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide a laser direct drawing apparatus that can reduce the installation area and improve the processing efficiency even when drawing both front and back surfaces of a drawing object.

  In order to solve the above problem, the first means positions the laser beam in the X direction by the deflecting means and moves the drawing object in the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction to form a desired pattern on the drawing object. In a laser direct drawing apparatus for drawing, holding means for holding the drawing object by providing two sets of the deflecting means and irradiating the drawing area on the front side and the back side of the drawing object with the laser beam The laser beam is scanned on the surface side of the drawing object by one of the deflection means, and the laser beam is scanned on the back surface side of the drawing object by the other of the deflection means. It is characterized by drawing both front and back sides simultaneously.

  The second means is a laser direct drawing in which a laser beam is scanned in the X direction by a polygon mirror and the object to be drawn is moved in the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction to draw a desired pattern on the object to be drawn. In the apparatus, two sets of a light source for outputting a laser beam, the polygon mirror having n reflection surfaces, and a sensor are provided, and the drawing regions on the front side and the back side of the drawing target are irradiated on the laser beam. And holding means for holding the drawing object, and the first laser beam is scanned on the front side or the back side of the drawing object by the first polygon mirror, and the second polygon mirror is used to scan the drawing object. The second laser beam is configured to scan on the back surface side or the front surface side of the object to be drawn, and the light reflected by each reflecting surface of the first polygon mirror is configured. The shortest time among the n times until one laser beam is incident on the first sensor arranged at a predetermined position is t1 min, and is reflected by each reflecting surface of the second polygon mirror. The shortest time among the n times until the second laser beam is incident on the second sensor arranged at the same x coordinate as the x coordinate of the first sensor is t2min (where t2min ≧ t2min), the drawing start time by the first polygon mirror is added to (t2min−t1min) by a predetermined time Δt, starting from the time when the first sensor detects the first laser beam. A predetermined time Δt starting from the second drawing start time by the polygon mirror and the time at which the second sensor detects the second laser beam. As time was example, it is characterized by drawing the front and rear surfaces of the object to be drawn bodies simultaneously.

  The installation area of the laser direct drawing apparatus can be made the same as the installation area of the conventional laser direct drawing apparatus, and the work efficiency can be improved because it is not necessary to reverse the drawing object.

  FIG. 1 is an overall view of a double-sided laser direct drawing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a table unit in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a holding frame for holding an object to be drawn. 5 and 6 having the same configuration or the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted. In this embodiment, two sets of laser irradiation optical systems are provided and arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the drawing object, respectively, so that u is arranged on the lower side of the component arranged on the upper side. The components of the laser irradiation optical system are denoted by d.

  First, the holding frame that holds the table unit and the drawing object will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of columns 23 are placed on both sides of the bed 18 in the X direction. The Y table 21a is movable in the Y direction by a linear motor 14 disposed on the column 23 and a pair of guides 13a. A square through hole 20a is formed at the center of the Y table 21a. The X table 21b is movable in the X direction by a motor 35, a ball screw 36 and a pair of guides 13b arranged on the Y table 21a. A square through hole 20b is formed at the center of the X table 21b. A holding frame 30 that holds the drawing object 10 is fixed on the X table 21b. Since it is the above structure, the to-be-drawn body 10 can be positioned in the desired position of XY direction.

  3, (a) is a perspective view of the holding frame 30, and (b) is a side view.

  The holding frame 30 includes an upper holding frame 30a and a lower holding frame 30b. Square through holes 32a and 32b are formed in the center portions of the upper holding frame 30a and the lower holding frame 30b, respectively, and have a hollow rectangular frame shape. A transparent glass 31a larger than the through hole 32a is integrated with the upper holding frame 30a on the lower surface of the upper holding frame 30a, and a transparent glass 31b larger than the through hole 32b is formed on the lower surface of the lower holding frame 30b on the lower holding frame 30b. And are arranged together. The top surface of the transparent glass 31a and the bottom surface of the transparent glass 31b are coated to prevent the laser beam 5a from being reflected. The upper holding frame 30a and the lower holding frame 30b are fixed by a means not shown in the drawing with the drawing object 10 sandwiched therebetween, and hold the drawing object 10.

  Next, the whole will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the upper table 25 is fixed on the column 23 via a stand 24. On the upper table 25, a laser source 1u, a mirror 2au, an expander 3u, a mirror 2bu, an AOM 4u, a polygon mirror 6u, an fθ lens 7u and a folding mirror 8u are arranged. A cylindrical lens 9u indicated by a dotted line is disposed below the folding mirror 8u. In addition, a start sensor 15u (not shown) is provided on the left side of the cylindrical lens 9u in the drawing (not shown, but a reference numeral is attached to distinguish the arrangement state; the same applies hereinafter). The laser beam 5u output from the laser source 1u enters the AOM 4u via the mirror 2au, the expander 3u, and the mirror 2bu. The laser beam 5au modulated by the AOM 4u includes the polygon mirror 6u, the fθ lens 7u, and the folding mirror 8u. Then, the light enters the surface of the drawing object 10 through the cylindrical lens 9u and draws a dry film resist (hereinafter referred to as “DFR”), a photoresist, or the like on the surface side. A through hole 26 is provided in the upper table 25 below the folding mirror 8u in order to guide the laser beam 5au reflected by the folding mirror 8u to the lower cylindrical lens 9u.

  On the bed 18, a laser source 1d, a mirror 2ad, an expander 3d, a mirror 2bd, an AOM 4d, a polygon mirror 6d, an fθ lens 7d, and a folding mirror 8d are arranged. A cylindrical lens 9d indicated by a dotted line is disposed above the folding mirror 8d. A start sensor 15d (not shown) is disposed on the left side of the cylindrical lens 9d. The laser beam 5d output from the laser source 1d enters the AOM 4d via the mirror 2ad, the expander 3d, and the mirror 2bd, and the laser beam 5ad modulated by the AOM 4d includes the polygon mirror 6d, the fθ lens 7d, and the folding mirror 8d. In addition, the light is incident on the back side of the drawing object 10 through the cylindrical lens 9d, and a dry film resist (hereinafter referred to as “DFR”) or a photoresist on the back side is drawn.

  By the way, when electrically connecting the pattern on the front side and the pattern on the back side, a through hole is made at the intersection of the two, and the inside of the through hole is plated to electrically connect the pattern on the front side and the pattern on the back side. Connect. In such a case, the positions of the pattern on the front surface side and the pattern on the back surface side must be matched.

  However, even if the polygon mirror 6u and the polygon mirror 6d have the same shape and are rotated at the same angular velocity, the positions of the front surface pattern and the back surface pattern cannot be aligned. The reasons why the pattern on the front surface side and the pattern on the back surface side cannot be aligned are as follows.

  That is, the first cause is that even if the shapes of the polygon mirror 6u and the polygon mirror 6d are the same, there is a manufacturing error, so that they do not completely match. The second cause is a start sensor for the polygon mirror 6u. This is because it is difficult to make the positional relationship of 15u and the positional relationship of the start sensor 15d with respect to the polygon mirror 6d the same.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the positions in the X direction of the pattern on the front surface side and the pattern on the back surface side are matched as follows.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the drawing start time and the drawing start position. FIG. 4A shows the operation of the start sensors 15u and 15d, and the horizontal axis is time. FIG. 5B shows the drawing start position, and the horizontal axis is the x coordinate value. Further, in (A) and (B), (a) to (f) in the vertical direction are for the surfaces of the polygon mirror 6u having a hexagonal cross section, and (g) to (l) are for the polygon mirror 6d. Respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in the case of the polygon mirror 6u, the time until the start sensor 15u is turned on is t11 to t16, and the shortest time (t1min) is t13 (= 0). In the case of the polygon mirror 6d, the time until the start sensor 15d is turned on is t21 to t26, and the shortest time (t2min) is t22. Here, the starting point (time 0) until the start sensors 15u and 15d are turned on is a position where the laser beam reflected by the end face of each reflecting surface of the polygon mirror in the design is incident, and the start sensor 15u ( 15d) is the left position.

  In the illustrated case, the time difference between t22 and t13 is ΔT. Therefore, drawing is started on the back side of the drawing object 10 after the time Δt has elapsed since the start sensor 15d was turned on. Further, drawing on the surface side of the drawing object 10 starts after a time (ΔT + Δt) has elapsed since the start sensor 15u is turned on. If it does in this way, as shown to the same figure (B), the drawing start position of the X direction of the surface side and a back surface side can be arrange | equalized. In this embodiment, the position where Δt has elapsed is the position 10 mm to the right of the start sensor position.

  Further, by changing the inclination of the mirror 2bu or the folding mirror 8u, the position of the laser beam 5au in the Y direction is matched with the position of the laser beam 5ad in the Y direction. Note that it is easy to match the position of the laser beam 5au in the Y direction with the position of the laser beam 5ad in the Y direction.

  Then, the polygon mirror 6u and the polygon mirror 6d are rotated synchronously, and the laser beam 5au and 5ad are irradiated based on the start sensor signal while moving the table at a constant speed in the Y direction, thereby drawing both front and back surfaces simultaneously. To do.

  In this embodiment, since both sides in the thickness direction of the drawing object 10 are supported by the transparent glasses 31a and 31b, the drawing object 10 is not deformed in the vertical direction, and drawing with high accuracy can be performed. .

  In this embodiment, the drawing object 10 is horizontally arranged and two sets of laser beam irradiation optical systems are arranged in the vertical direction. However, the drawing object 10 is arranged in the vertical direction and the laser beam irradiation optical systems are arranged in the left and right directions. You may arrange in the direction.

  In this embodiment, since the laser beam is modulated by AOM, the number of laser sources 1 is one, the laser beam output from laser source 1 is divided into two by a beam splitter or a half mirror, and one of them is divided. The other may be supplied to the AOM 4u and the other to the AOM 4d.

  Further, when a plurality of laser diodes are used as the laser source 1 and the laser diodes are directly turned on / off according to the pixel data, the AOM 4 can be omitted.

  Furthermore, when the bending rigidity of the drawing object 10 is large, it is not necessary to provide the transparent glasses 31a and 31b.

  The first means of the present invention is not limited to scanning a laser beam by a polygon mirror, but a laser beam or the like is applied to a digital mirror device (DMD) in which a plurality of micromirrors are arranged in a column direction and a row direction. The object to be drawn is irradiated with light, and the micromirrors are individually turned on and off while the DMD and the object to be drawn are relatively moved in the row direction, and the object reflected by the micromirror is irradiated with the light. The present invention can also be applied to a laser direct drawing apparatus in which a desired pattern is drawn on top.

1 is an overall view of a double-sided laser direct drawing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the table part in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the holding frame holding a to-be-drawn body. It is a figure explaining drawing start time and a drawing start position. It is a block diagram of the conventional laser direct drawing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the position of a start sensor.

Explanation of symbols

5ad Laser beam 5au Laser beam 6d Polygon mirror 6u Polygon mirror 10 Drawing object 30 Holding frame

Claims (2)

In a laser direct drawing apparatus that positions a laser beam in an X direction by a deflecting unit and moves a drawing object in a Y direction perpendicular to the X direction to draw a desired pattern on the drawing object.
Two sets of the deflecting means are provided, and holding means for holding the drawing object is provided so that the drawing regions on the front side and the back side of the drawing object are irradiated with the laser beam,
Of the two sets of deflection means, one set of deflection means scans the front side of the drawing object with the other set of deflection means, respectively, and simultaneously draws both the front and back surfaces of the drawing object. A laser direct drawing apparatus that is characterized. In a laser direct drawing apparatus that draws a desired pattern on the drawing object by causing the laser beam to scan in the X direction by a polygon mirror and moving the drawing object in the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction,
Two sets of a light source for outputting a laser beam, the polygon mirror and sensor having n reflection surfaces, and a drawing area on the first surface side and the second surface side of the drawing object are provided in the laser beam. Holding means for holding the object to be drawn so as to be irradiated;
The first laser beam is scanned on the first surface side of the drawing object by the first polygon mirror, and the second laser beam is scanned on the second surface side of the drawing object by the second polygon mirror. Configured to scan with
The shortest time among n times until the first laser beam reflected by each reflecting surface of the first polygon mirror enters the first sensor arranged at a predetermined position is t1min. N until the second laser beam reflected by the respective reflecting surfaces of the second polygon mirror is incident on the second sensor arranged at the same x coordinate as the x coordinate of the first sensor. When the shortest time among the times is t2min (where t2min ≧ t2min),
The drawing start time by the first polygon mirror is set to a time obtained by adding a predetermined time Δt to (t2min−t1min) starting from the time when the first sensor detects the first laser beam,
The drawing start time by the second polygon mirror is set to a time obtained by adding a predetermined time Δt starting from the time at which the second sensor detects the second laser beam,
2. A laser direct drawing apparatus which draws both front and back surfaces of the drawing object simultaneously.

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