JP2009134101A - Data management device and pattern drawing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data management device of a pattern drawing apparatus capable of reducing the space for storing masks and the cost of management, as well as decreasing a burden of creating drawing data, and to provide a pattern drawing system including the data management device. <P>SOLUTION: The data management device 3 classifies and manages a plurality of masks M based on not an identifier given to each mask M but an identifier id2 given to each layout pattern of the masks M. Thereby, it is not necessary to prepare spare masks M for the respective plurality of masks M, which can reduce the space for storing masks and the cost of management. In drawing data D3, masks M having the same layout pattern P2 are designated by the same identifier id2, which reduces the burden of creating the drawing data D3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a pattern by irradiating light on a top surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a color filter, a glass substrate for a flat panel display (liquid crystal display device, plasma display device, etc.), a semiconductor substrate, or a printed substrate through a mask. The present invention relates to a data management device for a pattern drawing device that draws a pattern and a pattern drawing system including the data management device.

  In a manufacturing process of a color filter that is a component of a liquid crystal display device, a pattern drawing device that draws a pattern on a photosensitive material on a substrate by irradiating light on the upper surface of the substrate through a mask is used. A conventional pattern drawing apparatus includes a stage that moves while holding the substrate in a horizontal posture, and a plurality of optical heads that irradiate light onto the upper surface of the substrate through a mask, and moves the substrate from the plurality of optical heads. A regular pattern is drawn on the upper surface of the substrate by light irradiation.

  In such a pattern drawing apparatus, conventionally, a unique identifier is assigned to each of a plurality of masks to be used, and a plurality of masks are managed by the identifier. That is, when performing a drawing process, the conventional pattern drawing apparatus checks whether the identifier of the mask mounted on each optical head matches the identifier specified in the drawing data, and draws only when they match. It was supposed to execute the process.

  The configuration of a conventional pattern drawing apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. A technique for assigning unique identifiers to a plurality of masks is disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example.

JP 2005-345582 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-121982

  As described above, in a conventional pattern drawing apparatus, a plurality of masks are managed based on an identifier assigned to each mask. For this reason, for example, even when the same pattern is formed on a plurality of masks, different identifiers are assigned to the respective masks and are recognized by the apparatus as separate masks.

  However, in such a management form, when preparing a spare mask in preparation for damage or deterioration of the mask, a spare mask must be prepared for each mask mounted on each optical head. There is a problem that the storage space and management cost of the mask increase. In addition, it is necessary to incorporate identifiers into the drawing data as many as the number of masks mounted on the pattern writing apparatus. When a mask mounted on the optical head is replaced with a mask with a different identifier, the drawing data is recreated each time. There was also the problem of having to.

  In particular, in recent years, the number of optical heads in a pattern writing apparatus tends to increase as the substrate size increases. For this reason, the above problem has become a more serious problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and reduces the mask storage space and management cost, as well as the data management apparatus of the pattern drawing apparatus that can reduce the burden of creating drawing data, and An object is to provide a pattern drawing system including a data management device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a plurality of masks having a layout pattern formed by a light transmitting part and a light shielding part, and irradiating light on the upper surface of the substrate through each mask A data management device connected to a pattern drawing device for drawing a pattern on a photosensitive material on a substrate, wherein a layout data creation unit for creating layout data indicating a layout pattern on a mask, and the layout data creation unit First identifier issuing means for issuing a unique first identifier for each generated layout data, and drawing data for holding the first identifier as information for specifying a mask to be used, and And a drawing data creation unit for providing drawing data.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the data management device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of masks mounted on the pattern drawing device have the same layout pattern.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the data management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the layout pattern is a set of a plurality of unit pattern groups, and the drawing data creation unit is configured to include the first identifier. And the drawing data including the information indicating the position of a desired unit pattern group in the layout pattern specified by the first identifier.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the data management device according to claim 3, further comprising data storage means for storing data of a plurality of types of unit patterns constituting the unit pattern group, and the layout data creation unit Is characterized in that the layout data is created by reading the data of the unit pattern from the storage means.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a pattern drawing system comprising the data management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the pattern drawing device, and a mask making device for making a plurality of masks. The mask production device produces a plurality of masks based on the layout data provided from the layout data creation unit, and the pattern drawing device follows the drawing data provided from the drawing data creation unit. A drawing process is performed.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the pattern drawing system according to claim 5, wherein the mask manufacturing apparatus records a second identifier including the first identifier for a plurality of masks manufactured. The pattern drawing device extracts a first identifier from a reading unit that reads a second identifier recorded on a mask mounted on the pattern writing unit and the second identifier read by the reading unit, and is designated in drawing data. And a determination unit that determines whether or not the first identifier matches.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the pattern drawing system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the pattern drawing apparatus includes a mask storage unit that stores a plurality of masks having the same layout pattern; And a mask transport unit that transports the mask from the mask storage unit to each of the plurality of optical heads.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the pattern drawing system according to claim 7, wherein the mask storage unit can further store a spare mask having the same layout pattern as the plurality of masks, The mask transport unit may replace the mask mounted on the optical head with the spare mask when a mask abnormality is detected in any of the plurality of optical heads.

  According to the first to eighth aspects of the invention, the data management device includes a layout data creation unit that creates layout data indicating a layout pattern on a mask, and a layout data creation unit that is unique to each layout data created by the layout data creation unit. A first identifier issuing means for issuing a first identifier; a drawing data creating unit for creating drawing data holding the first identifier as information for designating a mask to be used and providing the drawing data to the pattern drawing apparatus; Prepare. That is, the data management apparatus according to the present invention manages a plurality of masks by distinguishing them using an identifier assigned for each layout data, not an identifier assigned for each mask. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a spare mask for each of a plurality of masks, and the mask storage space and management cost can be reduced. Also, in the drawing data, masks having the same layout pattern are designated by the same identifier, so that the burden on drawing data creation can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of masks mounted on the pattern drawing apparatus have the same layout pattern. Therefore, a plurality of masks mounted on the pattern drawing apparatus can be managed with one identifier.

  In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the layout pattern is a set of a plurality of unit pattern groups, and the drawing data creation unit includes a first identifier and a desired pattern in the layout pattern specified by the first identifier. Drawing data including information indicating the position of the unit pattern group is created. For this reason, a drawing process can be performed by selectively using a desired unit pattern group among a plurality of unit pattern groups formed on the mask.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 4, the data management device further includes data storage means for storing data of a plurality of types of unit patterns constituting the unit pattern group. The unit pattern data is read to create layout data. For this reason, a layout pattern can be created by combining desired unit patterns.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 5, the pattern drawing system includes a data management device, a pattern drawing device, and a mask manufacturing device for manufacturing a plurality of masks, and the mask manufacturing device generates layout data. A plurality of masks are created based on the layout data provided from the unit, and the pattern drawing apparatus performs a drawing process according to the drawing data provided from the drawing data creation unit. For this reason, it is possible to appropriately perform drawing processing using a plurality of masks created based on the layout data and drawing data including the first identifier of the layout data.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 6, the mask manufacturing apparatus records the second identifier including the first identifier for the plurality of manufactured masks, and the pattern drawing apparatus is mounted on itself. A reading unit that reads the second identifier recorded in the mask, and extracts the first identifier from the second identifier read by the reading unit, and determines whether or not it matches the first identifier specified in the drawing data And a determination unit. Therefore, the pattern drawing apparatus can execute the drawing process after confirming that the layout pattern of the mask to be used is correct.

  In particular, according to the seventh aspect of the invention, the pattern drawing apparatus transports the mask from the mask storage unit to the plurality of optical heads, each of which stores a plurality of masks having the same layout pattern. And a mask transport unit. For this reason, the pattern drawing apparatus can automatically mount a mask having the same layout pattern on each optical head.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 8, the mask storage portion can further store a spare mask having the same layout pattern as the plurality of masks, and the mask transport portion can be any of the plurality of optical heads. When an abnormality of the mask is detected, the mask mounted on the optical head is replaced with a spare mask. For this reason, even when an abnormality occurs in some of the masks, the drawing process can be continued by automatically replacing the masks with spare masks.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. Overall configuration of pattern drawing system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a pattern drawing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This pattern drawing system 100 is used to form a regular pattern on the upper surface of a glass substrate for color filter (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) 9 in the process of manufacturing a color filter that is a component of a liquid crystal display device. The manufacturing system used. As shown in FIG. 1, a pattern drawing system 100 includes a pattern drawing apparatus 1 that draws a regular pattern on the upper surface of a substrate 9 and a mask manufacturing apparatus that produces a plurality of masks M mounted on the pattern drawing apparatus 1. 2 and a data management device 3 electrically connected to the pattern writing device 1 and the mask manufacturing device 2.

  The data management device 3 manages various data used in the pattern writing device 1 and the mask manufacturing device 2, and provides necessary data D2 and D3 to the pattern writing device 1 and the mask manufacturing device 2, respectively. The mask production apparatus 2 produces a plurality of masks M based on data (“layout data” described later) D2 provided from the data management apparatus 3. A plurality of masks M manufactured by the mask manufacturing apparatus 2 are stored in a predetermined cassette C and set in the pattern drawing apparatus 1. The pattern drawing apparatus 1 takes out a plurality of masks M from the cassette C, mounts the masks at predetermined positions in the apparatus, and provides data ("drawing data" described later) D3 provided from the data management apparatus 3. By operating based on the above, a regular pattern is drawn on the upper surface of the substrate 9.

<2. Configuration of pattern drawing apparatus>
2 and 3 are a side view and a top view showing a detailed configuration of the pattern drawing apparatus 1, respectively. 2 and 3 are provided with a common XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in order to clarify the positional relationship and operation direction of each member. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pattern writing apparatus 1 mainly includes a stage 10 for holding the substrate 9, a stage moving mechanism 20 connected to the stage 10, and a mask M through a mask M. And a head unit 30 that irradiates the upper surface with pulsed light.

  The stage 10 has a flat outer shape, and is a part for mounting and holding the substrate 9 in a horizontal posture on the upper surface thereof. The stage 10 is made of a stone material such as marble, for example. A plurality of suction holes (not shown) are formed on the upper surface of the stage 10. Therefore, the substrate 9 placed on the stage 10 is fixed and held on the upper surface of the stage 10 by the suction pressure of the plurality of suction holes. In the present embodiment, a photosensitive layer made of a photosensitive material such as a photoresist is formed in advance on the upper surface of the substrate 9 to be subjected to the drawing process.

  The stage moving mechanism 20 is a mechanism for moving the stage 10 in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction), the sub-scanning direction (X-axis direction), and the rotation direction (rotation direction around the Z-axis). The stage moving mechanism 20 includes a rotation mechanism 21 that rotates the stage 10, a support plate 22 that rotatably supports the stage 10, a sub-scanning mechanism 23 that moves the support plate 22 in the sub-scanning direction, and a sub-scanning mechanism 23. And a main scanning mechanism 25 for moving the base plate 24 in the main scanning direction.

  The rotation mechanism 21 includes a linear motor 21 a that includes a mover attached to the end portion on the −Y side of the stage 10 and a stator laid on the upper surface of the support plate 22. A rotating shaft 21 b is provided between the center of the lower surface of the stage 10 and the support plate 22. For this reason, when the linear motor 21a is operated, the moving element moves in the sub-scanning direction along the stator, and the stage 10 rotates within a predetermined angle range around the rotating shaft 21b on the support plate 22.

  The sub-scanning mechanism 23 includes a linear motor 23 a configured by a mover attached to the lower surface of the support plate 22 and a stator laid on the upper surface of the base plate 24. In addition, a pair of guide portions 23 b extending in the sub-scanning direction is provided between the support plate 22 and the base plate 24. For this reason, when the linear motor 23a is operated, the support plate 22 moves in the sub-scanning direction along the guide portion 23b on the base plate 24.

  The main scanning mechanism 25 has a linear motor 25 a composed of a mover attached to the lower surface of the base plate 24 and a stator laid on the base 29 of the apparatus 1. In addition, a pair of guide portions 25 b extending in the main scanning direction is provided between the base plate 24 and the base 29. For this reason, when the linear motor 25a is operated, the base plate 24 moves along the guide portion 25b on the base 29 in the main scanning direction.

  The head unit 30 is a part for irradiating pulsed light toward the upper surface of the substrate 9 held on the stage 10. The head unit 30 includes a frame 31 installed on a base 29 so as to straddle the stage 10 and the stage moving mechanism 20, and a plurality of optical heads 32 attached on the frame 31 at equal intervals along the sub-scanning direction. And have. One laser oscillator 34 is connected to the plurality of optical heads 32 via an illumination optical system 33. The laser oscillator 34 is connected to a laser driving unit 35 that performs on / off driving of the laser oscillator 34. When the laser driving unit 35 is operated, pulse light is oscillated from the laser oscillator 34, and the pulse light is introduced into each optical head 32 through the illumination optical system 33.

  Each optical head 32 has passed through an emission unit 321 that emits pulsed light introduced from the illumination optical system 33 downward, a mask unit 322 that partially shields the pulsed light, and a mask unit 322. A projection optical system 323 that irradiates the upper surface of the substrate 9 with a light beam is provided. A mask M that is a glass plate having a predetermined light-shielding pattern is mounted on the mask unit 322. The pulsed light emitted from the emission unit 321 is shielded according to the pattern on the mask M when passing through the mask unit 322, and enters the projection optical system 323 as a light beam shaped into a predetermined pattern shape. The pulsed light that has passed through the projection optical system 323 is irradiated onto the upper surface of the substrate 9, and the photosensitive layer on the substrate 9 is exposed, whereby a pattern is drawn on the upper surface of the substrate 9.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mask M mounted on the mask unit 322. As shown in FIG. 4, the mask M is formed with a plurality (five in the example of FIG. 4) pattern groups (hereinafter referred to as “slit pattern groups”) P1 (unit pattern groups). Each slit pattern group P <b> 1 is a pattern group in which a plurality of slit patterns p (unit patterns) are regularly arranged as shown in an enlarged manner within a box surrounded by a broken line in the drawing. One layout pattern P2 is configured as a set of a plurality of slit pattern groups P1 formed on the mask M. Further, a barcode B indicating a mask identifier id3 described later is recorded at the corner of the mask M. The mask M is mounted on the mask unit 322 so that the arrangement direction of the plurality of slit pattern groups P1 coincides with the main scanning direction.

  As conceptually shown in FIG. 2, the pattern drawing apparatus 1 includes a mask moving mechanism 324 that moves the mask M in the main scanning direction. The mask moving mechanism 324 can be configured, for example, as a mechanism that moves a holder that holds the mask by a driving unit such as a linear motor. The pattern drawing apparatus 1 operates the mask moving mechanism 324 and adjusts the position of the mask M in the main scanning direction, so that any one of the plurality of slit pattern groups P1 formed on the mask M is changed. It is located in the irradiation area of the pulsed light. Then, the slit pattern group P1 is projected onto the upper surface of the substrate 9 by irradiating pulse light through the slit pattern group P1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pattern drawing apparatus 1 includes a cassette table 36 on which a cassette C that can store a plurality of masks M is placed. When the mask M is mounted on the pattern drawing apparatus 1, first, the cassette C storing a plurality of masks M is placed on the cassette stand 36. Then, the mask transport mechanism 37 takes out the masks M one by one from the cassette C, and the taken out masks M are transported to the respective mask units 322. When the used mask M is collected, the mask transport mechanism 37 takes out the mask M from each mask unit 322 and stores the mask M in the cassette C on the cassette table 36. The cassette table 36 is provided with a barcode reader 361 that reads the barcode B recorded on each of the plurality of masks M stored in the cassette C.

  The plurality of optical heads 32 are arranged at equal intervals (for example, at intervals of 200 mm) along the sub-scanning direction. When the stage 10 is moved in the main scanning direction and pulsed light is intermittently emitted from each optical head 32, the slit pattern group P1 of the mask M is repeatedly projected on the upper surface of the substrate 9, and as shown in FIG. A plurality of pattern groups having a predetermined exposure width D (for example, 50 mm width) are drawn on the upper surface of the substrate 9. When the drawing in the main scanning direction is completed once, the pattern drawing apparatus 1 moves the stage 10 by the exposure width D in the sub-scanning direction, and moves the stage 10 in the main scanning direction again while moving each optical head 32. Irradiate with pulsed light. As described above, the pattern drawing apparatus 1 repeats the drawing of the pattern in the main scanning direction a predetermined number of times (for example, four times) while shifting the substrate 9 in the sub-scanning direction by the exposure width of the optical head 32, thereby obtaining FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a regular pattern for color filters is formed on the entire drawing region of the substrate 9.

  Further, the pattern drawing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 40 in addition to the above configuration. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a connection configuration between the above-described units of the pattern drawing apparatus 1 and the control unit 40. As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 40 includes the linear motors 21a, 23a, 25a, the illumination optical system 33, the laser drive unit 35, the projection optical system 323, the mask moving mechanism 324, the barcode reader 361, and the mask. It is electrically connected to the transport mechanism 37 and controls these operations. The control unit 40 is configured by, for example, a computer having a CPU and a memory, and controls the above-described units when the computer operates according to a program installed in the computer.

<3. Configuration of data management device>
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data management device 3. The data management device 3 can be configured by a computer having a CPU and a memory, for example, but may be configured as a system in which a plurality of computers are connected to each other. The data management device 3 includes a pattern data management unit 50 and a drawing data creation unit 60 as data processing units realized by a computer operating according to a predetermined program. Further, the data management device 3 includes a user interface unit 70 (for example, a liquid crystal display and a keyboard) that inputs and outputs information between the pattern data management unit 50 and the drawing data creation unit 60.

  The pattern data management unit 50 is a data processing unit that manages data related to the light-transmitting / shielding pattern formed on the upper surface of the mask M and provides the mask manufacturing apparatus 2 with data necessary for manufacturing the mask M. As shown in FIG. 8, the pattern data management unit 50 mainly includes a data storage unit 51 and a layout data creation unit 52.

  The data storage unit 51 is a storage unit that stores slit shape data D1 indicating the shape of each slit pattern p (see FIG. 4) formed on the mask M. Specifically, the data storage unit 51 includes a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The data storage unit 51 stores various types of slit shape data D1 that can be used as the slit pattern p. The slit shape data D1 is given in advance from an external device as CAD data, for example, and stored in the data storage unit 51. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the slit shape data D1 accumulated in the data storage unit 51. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of slit shape data D1 is given a unique slit shape identifier id1 (0001, 0002, 0003,...) For each shape.

  The layout data creation unit 52 is a processing unit that reads the slit shape data D1 from the data storage unit 51 and creates layout data D2 indicating a layout pattern P2 (see FIG. 4) to be formed on the mask M. The slit shape data D1 and their arrangement to be used are designated by an operation input from the user interface unit 70. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the layout data D2 created by the layout data creation unit 52. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, the layout data D2 includes data corresponding to the slit pattern group P1 by arranging five slit shape data D1 having slit shape identifiers id1 of 0001, 0002, 0009, 0011, and 0012, respectively. These are data representing that they are arranged in the first to fifth stages.

  The layout data creation unit 52 issues a unique layout identifier id (first identifier) 2 to the created layout data D2. In the example of FIG. 10, “0001” is assigned as the layout identifier id2 to the created layout data D2. The layout data creation unit 52 provides the created layout data D2 to the mask making apparatus 2 together with the layout identifier id2 assigned to the layout data D2.

  Further, the layout data creation unit 52 indicates the correspondence between the position (layout position) in the layout pattern P2 and the slit shape identifier id1 of the slit pattern p arranged at the position for the created layout data D2. A layout management file F1 is created. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the layout management file F1 created for the layout data D2 of FIG. In the layout management file F1 of FIG. 11, the slit shape identifiers id1 are “0001”, “0002”, “0009”, “0011” in the first to fifth stages of the layout pattern P2 whose layout identifier id2 is “0001”. , “0012” slit pattern p is arranged. The layout management file F <b> 1 is stored in the data storage unit 51 and can be appropriately referred to by the operator via the user interface unit 70.

  On the other hand, the drawing data creation unit 60 creates the drawing data D3 for operating the pattern drawing apparatus 1. The drawing data D3 holds the layout identifier id2 of the layout pattern P2 to be drawn and information indicating the layout position of the slit pattern group P1 to be drawn in the layout pattern P2. The layout identifier id2 and layout position information incorporated in the drawing data D3 are designated by the operator performing operation input while referring to the layout management file F1 via the user interface unit 70.

<4. Processing procedure>
Next, the flow of processing in the pattern drawing system 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When a pattern is drawn on the upper surface of the substrate 9 in the pattern drawing system 100, first, the layout data D2 is created in the layout data creation unit 52 of the data management device 3 (step S1). Specifically, the operator designates a plurality of slit shape data D1 and their layout positions by performing operation input on the user interface unit 70. The layout data creation unit 52 creates the layout data D2 by arranging the designated slit shape data D1 at the designated layout position. In addition, the layout data creation unit 52 issues a unique layout identifier id2 to the created layout data D2. Then, the layout data creation unit 52 provides the layout data D2 to the mask making apparatus 2 together with the issued layout identifier id2. Further, the layout data creation unit 52 creates a layout management file F1 for the created layout data D2, and stores the layout management file F1 in the data storage unit 51.

  Next, the drawing data creation unit 60 creates drawing data D3 for operating the pattern drawing apparatus 1 (step S2). Specifically, the operator refers to the layout management file F1 via the user interface unit 70 and designates a desired layout identifier id2 and a desired layout position of the slit pattern group P1 by operation input. The drawing data creation unit 60 creates drawing data D3 including the designated layout identifier id2 and layout position information. The created drawing data D is transmitted from the drawing data creation unit 60 to the control unit 40 of the pattern drawing apparatus 1.

  On the other hand, the mask production apparatus 2 produces a plurality of masks M based on the layout data D2 provided from the data management apparatus 3 (step S3). Specifically, the mask manufacturing apparatus 2 creates the mask M by forming the layout pattern P2 on the upper surface of the glass plate based on the acquired layout data D2.

  The mask manufacturing apparatus 2 issues a mask identifier id3 (second identifier) to each of the plurality of manufactured masks M. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mask identifier id3. As shown in FIG. 13, the mask identifier id3 is composed of a layout identifier id2 corresponding to the layout pattern P2 of the mask M and a serial number unique to the mask M. For this reason, the layout identifier id2 can be easily extracted from the mask identifier id3. However, the mask identifier id3 is not necessarily in the form as shown in FIG. 13, and any mask identifier can be used as long as the layout identifier id2 can be calculated or extracted by a predetermined calculation process. The mask manufacturing apparatus 2 records the barcode B indicating the issued mask identifier id3 in the corner of each mask M (see FIG. 4).

  The plurality of masks M manufactured by the mask manufacturing apparatus 2 are stored in the cassette C by an operator or a predetermined transport mechanism (step S4). Then, the cassette C storing a plurality of masks M is placed on the cassette table 36 of the pattern drawing apparatus 1 (step S5).

  When the cassette C is placed on the cassette table 36, the barcode reader 361 provided on the cassette table 36 reads the barcode B recorded at the corner of each mask M in the cassette C, and each mask M The mask identifier id3 is acquired (step S6). The barcode reader 361 transfers the mask identifier id3 acquired for each mask M to the control unit 40 of the pattern drawing apparatus 1.

  When receiving the mask identifier id3 of each mask M, the control unit 40 extracts the layout identifier id2 from each mask identifier id3. Then, it is confirmed whether or not each extracted layout identifier id2 matches the layout identifier id2 designated in the drawing data D3 (step S7).

  When the layout identifier id2 extracted from all the mask identifiers id3 matches the layout identifier id2 specified in the drawing data D3, the control unit 40 makes a plurality of masks M stored in the cassette C. Are determined to be correct and the drawing process is executed (step S8). That is, the pattern drawing apparatus 1 operates the mask transport mechanism 37 to take out the mask M from the cassette C, and transports each mask M to each mask unit 322. The pattern drawing apparatus 1 forms a regular pattern on the upper surface of the substrate 9 by operating the stage moving mechanism 20 and the head unit 30 according to the drawing data D3.

  On the other hand, when the layout identifier id2 extracted from one or more mask identifiers id3 does not match the layout identifier id2 specified in the drawing data D3, the control unit 40 is inappropriate in the cassette C. It is determined that the mask M is included, and the drawing process is stopped (step S9). At this time, the control unit 40 displays a warning on an attached display (not shown).

  As described above, the pattern drawing system 100 according to the present embodiment manages a plurality of masks M using the layout identifier id2 assigned to each layout data, and determines whether the mask M is appropriate for the drawing data D3. The layout identifier id2 is incorporated as information for this purpose. Therefore, if even the layout pattern P2 of the mask M matches, the drawing process can be executed using the mask M. Therefore, the compatibility of the mask M is improved. Also, when preparing a spare mask M, it is not necessary to prepare a spare mask M for each of a plurality of masks M, and a spare mask M may be prepared for each layout pattern P2.

  Further, even when the mask used in the pattern drawing apparatus 1 is replaced with a mask M having a different mask identifier id3, it is not necessary to recreate the drawing data D3 as long as the layout identifier id2 matches. For this reason, the burden concerning creation of drawing data D3 is also reduced.

<5. Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the slit pattern group P1 configured by the different slit patterns p is formed at a plurality of layout positions on the mask M, but the same at the plurality of layout positions on the mask M. A plurality of slit pattern groups P1 in which the slit patterns p are arranged in different arrangement forms may be formed.

  In the above embodiment, the barcode B indicating the mask identifier id3 is recorded at the corner of the mask M, but other readable figures and characters may be used instead of the barcode B. In the above embodiment, the barcode B of the mask M is read when the cassette C is placed on the cassette stand 36. However, after the mask M is mounted on each optical head 32, a predetermined camera or You may make it read the barcode B of each mask M with a barcode reader.

  Further, a unique cassette identifier id4 is assigned to the cassette C in which a plurality of masks M are stored, and the cassette identifier id4 and the mask identifier id3 of the mask M stored in the cassette C are associated and managed. May be. The cassette identifier id4 may be recorded, for example, on a frame or a top plate of the cassette C so that the pattern drawing apparatus 1 can read the cassette identifier id4. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, a cassette management file F2 showing the cassette identifier id4 and the mask identifier id3 of the mask M stored in each stage of the cassette C is created so that the operator can refer to it. May be. In this way, the mask M mounted on each optical head 32 in the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be easily confirmed.

  Furthermore, a history file in which a history of drawing processing, cleaning processing, etc. is recorded for each mask M may be created so that the operator can refer to it. In this way, the operator can determine the life of the mask M and the degree of contamination using the history file as a clue.

  Further, a spare mask M prepared for each layout pattern P2 may be stored in the cassette C in advance. In addition, each optical head 32 is provided with a sensor that detects an abnormality of the mask M. When the sensor detects an abnormality of the mask M in any of the plurality of optical heads 32, the mask transport mechanism 37 is mounted on the optical head. M and the spare mask M may be automatically exchanged. In this way, even when an abnormality occurs in some of the masks M, the mask M can be automatically replaced with a spare mask M and the drawing process can be continued.

  In the above embodiment, the glass substrate 9 for the color filter is a processing target. However, the present invention performs a drawing process on another substrate such as a semiconductor substrate, a printed substrate, or a glass substrate for a plasma display device. It may be a thing.

It is the figure which showed the whole structure of the pattern drawing system. It is a side view of a pattern drawing apparatus. It is a top view of a pattern drawing apparatus. It is the figure which showed the example of the mask. It is the figure which showed the mode of the drawing process with respect to a board | substrate. It is the figure which showed the mode of the drawing process with respect to a board | substrate. It is the block diagram which showed the connection structure between each part and control part of a pattern drawing apparatus. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the data management apparatus. It is the figure which showed the example of slit shape data. It is the figure which showed the example of layout data. It is the figure which showed the example of the layout management file. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process in a pattern drawing system. It is the figure which showed the example of the mask identifier. It is the figure which showed the example of the cassette management file.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pattern drawing apparatus 2 Mask production apparatus 3 Data management apparatus 9 Board | substrate 10 Stage 20 Stage moving mechanism 30 Head part 32 Optical head 322 Mask unit 324 Mask moving mechanism 36 Cassette stand 361 Bar code reader 37 Mask conveyance mechanism 40 Control part 50 Pattern data Management unit 51 Data storage unit 52 Layout data creation unit 60 Drawing data creation unit 70 User interface unit 100 Pattern drawing system B Barcode C Cassette M Mask D1 Slit shape data D2 Layout data D3 Drawing data F1 Layout management file F2 Cassette management file p Slit pattern P1 Slit pattern group P2 Layout pattern id1 Slit shape identifier id2 Layout identifier id3 Mask identifier i 4 cassette identifier

Claims (8)

A pattern drawing apparatus that mounts a plurality of masks having a layout pattern formed by a light transmitting part and a light shielding part, and draws a pattern on a photosensitive material on the substrate by irradiating light onto the upper surface of the substrate through each mask A data management device connected to
A layout data creation unit for creating layout data indicating a layout pattern on the mask;
First identifier issuing means for issuing a unique first identifier for each layout data created in the layout data creation unit;
A drawing data creating unit for creating drawing data holding the first identifier as information for designating a mask to be used, and providing the drawing data to the pattern drawing device;
A data management apparatus comprising: The data management device according to claim 1,
The data management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of masks mounted on the pattern drawing apparatus have the same layout pattern. The data management device according to claim 1 or 2,
The layout pattern is a set of a plurality of unit pattern groups,
The drawing data creation unit creates the drawing data including the first identifier and information indicating a position of a desired unit pattern group in a layout pattern specified by the first identifier. Management device. The data management device according to claim 3,
Data storage means for storing data of a plurality of types of unit patterns constituting the unit pattern group;
The layout data creation unit reads the unit pattern data from the storage means and creates the layout data. A pattern drawing system comprising the data management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the pattern drawing device, and a mask making device for making a plurality of masks,
The mask production apparatus produces a plurality of masks based on layout data provided from the layout data creation unit,
The pattern drawing apparatus, wherein the pattern drawing apparatus performs a drawing process according to drawing data provided from the drawing data creation unit. The pattern drawing system according to claim 5,
The mask manufacturing apparatus records a second identifier including the first identifier for a plurality of masks manufactured,
The pattern drawing device includes:
A reading unit for reading the second identifier recorded on the mask mounted on the device;
A determination unit that extracts a first identifier from the second identifier read by the reading unit and determines whether the first identifier matches the first identifier specified in the drawing data;
A pattern drawing system comprising: The pattern drawing system according to claim 5 or 6,
The pattern drawing device includes:
A mask storage section for storing a plurality of masks having the same layout pattern;
A mask transport section for transporting a mask from the mask storage section to a plurality of optical heads,
A pattern drawing system comprising: The pattern drawing system according to claim 7,
The mask storage unit can further store a spare mask having the same layout pattern as the plurality of masks;
The mask drawing unit is characterized in that when a mask abnormality is detected in any of the plurality of optical heads, the mask carrying unit replaces the mask mounted on the optical head with the spare mask.

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