JP2009265244A - Scanning exposure device and scanning exposure method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scanning exposure device and a scanning exposure method capable of blocking light for exposure by selectively using a light shield member to shield a region of minimum non-exposure width and efficiently shielding the entire pattern region of a mask. <P>SOLUTION: Each light shield unit 14 has four light shield members, i.e. first light shield members 60 and 60 whose width w1 in a conveyance direction is less than the minimum non-exposure width wNR, a second light shield member 61 whose width (w) in the conveyance direction is larger than that of the first light shield member 60, and a third light shield member 62 whose width w3 in the conveyance direction is larger than the width w2 of the second light shield member 61. In a state wherein a substrate W is conveyed below the mask M, the plurality of light shield members 60, 60, 61, and 62 shield the entire area of a pattern P of the mask M from light, and while the first light shield member 60 is moved in synchronism with the conveyance of the substrate W to form the non-exposure region NR of the minimum non-exposure width wNR, the substrate W is exposed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a scan exposure apparatus and a scan exposure method, and more particularly, suitable for exposing and transferring a desired pattern to a color filter substrate or an array substrate of a large flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display. The present invention relates to a scan exposure apparatus and a scan exposure method.

  As an exposure method for large flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays and plasma displays used in large thin TVs, etc., the mask is subdivided, and a plurality of mask holders for holding these masks are arranged in a staggered manner, and the substrate There is known a scanning exposure method in which exposure is performed while moving the lens in one direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This exposure method utilizes the fact that a large pattern can be formed by joining together on the premise that there is a portion that is repeated to some extent in the pattern formed on the substrate. In this case, the mask does not need to be large in accordance with the panel, and a relatively inexpensive mask can be used.

In the exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the light shielding member is moved in accordance with the moving speed of the substrate using a plurality of light shielding members, the light shielding member is accelerated in a state where it overlaps with other light shielding members. In this way, it has been proposed to suppress the influence on exposure due to the movement of the light shielding member.
JP 2008-40066 A

  By the way, in the case where a plurality of panels are formed from a single substrate using the scan exposure apparatus, when the front end portion of the substrate starts to enter below the pattern area of the mask, the front end portion is not exposed. The entire pattern area is preferably shielded from light. However, in the exposure apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is only described that a plurality of light shielding members are used so as to cover the non-exposed area of the substrate, and consideration is given to shielding the entire pattern area of the mask. Not. In addition, each light shielding member is formed with the same width in the substrate transport direction, and in order to fully close the pattern region, it is necessary to increase the number of light shielding members having the width corresponding to the width of the pattern region, There is a problem that the number of parts increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to selectively shield a light for exposure by using a light shielding member to shield a region of the minimum non-exposure width and to form a mask pattern. An object of the present invention is to provide a scan exposure apparatus and a scan exposure method capable of efficiently shielding the entire region.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
(1) a substrate transport mechanism capable of transporting a substrate along a predetermined direction;
A plurality of mask holders each holding a plurality of masks;
A plurality of irradiation units that are respectively disposed above the plurality of mask holding units and irradiate the exposure light;
A plurality of light shielding portions arranged between each of the irradiation units and each of the mask holding units, for shielding the exposure light emitted from the irradiation unit;
A scanning exposure apparatus that irradiates the substrate transported in the predetermined direction with exposure light through the mask and exposes the pattern of the mask on the substrate,
Each of the light shielding portions includes at least a first light shielding member whose width in the predetermined direction is equal to or less than a minimum non-exposure width in the direction, and a second light shielding member whose width in the predetermined direction is larger than the first light shielding member. Having a plurality of light shielding members provided,
The width of each light shielding member is set so as to shield the entire region of the pattern when the plurality of light shielding members are arranged side by side with an overlap in the predetermined direction. Exposure device.
(2) The scanning exposure apparatus according to (1), wherein the plurality of light shielding members include at least two first light shielding members.
(3) The widths of the plurality of light-shielding members are each designed to be light-shielded with an arbitrary width within a range of the minimum non-exposure width or more and the width of the entire pattern area or less (1) Or the scanning exposure apparatus as described in (2).
(4) A substrate transport mechanism capable of transporting a substrate along a predetermined direction, a plurality of mask holders that respectively hold a plurality of masks, and a plurality of mask holders disposed above the plurality of mask holders, and the exposure light A plurality of irradiation units that irradiate each of the plurality of irradiation units, and a plurality of light shielding units that are disposed between the plurality of irradiation units and the plurality of mask holding units, respectively, and that block the exposure light emitted from the irradiation units. Each of the light shielding portions includes a first light shielding member having a width in the predetermined direction equal to or less than a minimum non-exposure width in the direction, and a second light shielding member having a width in the predetermined direction larger than the first light shielding member, A scanning exposure apparatus that irradiates exposure light to the substrate conveyed in the predetermined direction through the mask and exposes the mask pattern onto the substrate. Sca Exposure method,
In a state where the substrate is conveyed under the mask, the step of shielding the entire pattern area of the mask by the plurality of light shielding members;
Moving the first light-shielding member in synchronization with transport of the substrate and exposing the substrate while forming a non-exposed region of the minimum non-exposed width;
A scan exposure method comprising:

  Here, the “entire pattern area” of the present invention is the entire area where the exposure light is irradiated to the mask that is not shielded by the light shielding part. For example, in this embodiment, the opening area of the mask holding part is To express.

  According to the scan exposure apparatus and the scan exposure method of the present invention, each light shielding portion includes a first light shielding member whose width in a predetermined direction is equal to or smaller than the minimum non-exposure width in the direction, and a width in the predetermined direction is the first light shielding member. A plurality of light shielding members having at least a second second light shielding member. Then, in a state where the substrate is transported under the mask, the entire mask pattern region is shielded by the plurality of light shielding members, and the first light shielding member is moved in synchronization with the transport of the substrate, so that the minimum non-exposure width is non-exposed. The substrate is exposed while forming an exposure region. Therefore, the light shielding part can be configured with a simple structure, and the light for exposure can be shielded by selectively using the light shielding member, so that the area of the minimum non-exposure width can be shielded, and the entire pattern area of the mask can be shielded efficiently. can do.

  Embodiments of a scan exposure apparatus and a scan exposure method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a glass for forming a plurality of color filter panels having an exposed region in which a black matrix layer as a base pattern layer is formed and a non-exposed region in which a base pattern layer is not formed. A proximity scanning exposure apparatus and an exposure method for forming any of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colored layers on a substrate will be described.

  First, a schematic configuration of the proximity scan exposure apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the scan exposure apparatus 1 of the present embodiment floats and supports a substrate (color filter substrate) W and transports it in a predetermined direction (X direction in FIG. 1). 10 and a plurality of masks M, each of which is arranged in two rows in a staggered manner along the direction (Y direction in FIG. 1) intersecting with a predetermined direction (in the embodiment shown in FIG. ) Mask holding unit 11, mask driving unit 12 that drives the mask holding unit 11, a plurality of irradiation units 13 that are arranged above the plurality of mask holding units 11 and irradiate exposure light, and each irradiation unit 13 and each mask holding unit 11, a plurality of light shielding units 14 that shield the exposure light emitted from the irradiation unit 13, and a control unit that controls the movement of each operating part of the scan exposure apparatus 1. 15 and mainly comprises .

  The substrate transport mechanism 10 includes a floating unit 16 and a substrate driving unit 17 that holds one side of the substrate W in the Y direction (upper side in FIG. 1) and transports it in the X direction. The levitation unit 16 includes a plurality of exhaust air pads 20 and intake / exhaust air pads 21 respectively provided on a plurality of frames 19, and the exhaust air pads 20 and the intake / exhaust air pads 21 are provided via pumps (not shown) and solenoid valves (not shown). Air is exhausted or sucked and exhausted from the exhaust air pad 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate driving unit 17 includes a suction pad 22 that holds one end of the substrate W that is levitated and supported by the levitating unit 16, and includes a motor 23, a ball screw 24, and a nut (not shown). The substrate W is transported in the X direction along the guide rail 26 by the ball screw mechanism 25. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of frames 19 are arranged via another level block 28 on a device base 27 installed on the ground via the level block 18. Further, the substrate W may be transported by a linear servo actuator instead of the ball screw mechanism 25.

  The mask drive unit 12 is attached to a frame (not shown), and is attached to the X direction drive unit 31 that drives the mask holding unit 11 along the X direction, and the tip of the X direction drive unit 31. Is attached to the tip of the Y-direction drive unit 32, and the mask holding unit 11 is rotationally driven in the θ direction (around the horizontal plane consisting of the X and Y directions). A θ-direction drive unit 33 and a Z-direction drive unit 34 that is attached to the tip of the θ-direction drive unit 33 and drives the mask holding unit 11 in the Z direction (vertical direction of the horizontal plane formed of the X and Y directions). Accordingly, the mask holding unit 11 attached to the tip of the Z direction driving unit 34 can be driven in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions by the mask driving unit 12. Note that the order of arrangement of the X, Y, θ, and Z direction drive units 31, 32, 33, and 34 can be changed as appropriate.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a mask changer 2 in which the masks M of the mask holding portions 11a and 11b can be simultaneously exchanged between the carry-in side and carry-out side mask holding portions 11a and 11b arranged in two rows in a staggered manner. Is arranged. The used or unused mask M transported by the mask changer 2 is transferred to and from the mask stockers 3 and 4 by the loader 5. The mask M is pre-aligned by a mask pre-alignment mechanism (not shown) during the transfer between the mask stockers 3 and 4 and the mask changer 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the irradiation unit 13 disposed on the upper part of the mask holding unit 11 includes a light source 41 such as a YAG laser or an excimer laser, and a concave mirror 42 that collects light emitted from the light source 41, Two types of optical integrators 43 arranged so as to be switchable near the focal point of the concave mirror 42, a plane mirror 45 and a spherical mirror 46 for changing the direction of the optical path, and arranged between the plane mirror 45 and the optical integrator 43. And an exposure control shutter 44 for controlling the opening and closing of the irradiation light path.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each light shielding unit 14 includes two first light shieldings whose width w1 in the transport direction is equal to or smaller than the minimum non-exposure width wNR of the non-exposure region NR of the substrate W in the direction shown in FIG. The member 60, the second light shielding member 61 whose width w2 in the transport direction is larger than the width w1 of the first light shielding member 60, and the third light shielding member 62 whose width w3 in the transport direction is larger than the width w2 of the second light shielding member 61. It has four light shielding members. Each light shielding member 60, 60, 61, 62 is in the form of a straight strip extending in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and its end is connected to linear motors 70, 70, 71, 72. The linear motors 70, 70, 71, 72 are movable in the X-axis direction along guide rails 75, 75, 76, 77 by a driver (not shown).

  The widths w1, w1, w2, and w3 of the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, and 62 are equal to the width wm when the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, and 62 are arranged side by side with an overlap in the transport direction. Designed so that the entire area of the pattern P can be shielded, and can be shielded with an arbitrary width within the range of the minimum non-exposure width wNR of the non-exposure area NR and the width wm of the entire area of the pattern P. ing.

  Specifically, the widths w1, w1, w2, and w3 of the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, and 62 are set as follows. For example, the minimum non-exposure width wNR of the substrate W is 10 mm, the width wm in the transport direction of the mask pattern P, that is, the width in the transport direction of the opening 11c of the mask holder 11 is 60 mm, and the light shielding members 60, 60, 61 , 62 is 1.0 mm. In this case, if the width w1 of the first light shielding members 60, 60 is 10 mm in accordance with the minimum non-exposure width wNR, the two first light shielding members 60, 60 have a pattern of the mask M in the range of 10 mm to 19 mm. P can be shielded from light.

  The width by which the second and third light shielding members 61 and 62 shield the remaining area of the pattern P is 41 mm. If the second and third light shielding members w2 and w3 are set to the same 20.5 mm in consideration of the necessary overlap allowance s, the second light shielding member cannot be shielded with a width of 19 mm to 20.5 mm. Is 19 mm. Accordingly, the two first light shielding members 60 and 60 and the second light shielding member 61 can shield the pattern P of the mask M within a range of 10 to 37 mm.

  Accordingly, the third light shielding member 62 is set to 24 mm in consideration of the necessary overlap s in order to shield the remaining area of the pattern P, so that these light shielding members 60, 60, 61, 62 are The pattern P of the mask M can be shielded from light in the range of 10 to 60 mm. In practice, the width of the light shielding member located on both sides when each light shielding member is expanded is set in consideration of the overlap with the opening 11c of the mask holding part 11.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a method of setting each width wn when there are n ′ light shielding members. First, n = 1 (step s1), the width w1 of the two first light shielding members 60, 60 is set to be equal to or smaller than the minimum non-exposure width wNR of the non-exposure region NR of the substrate W (step s2). Next, in order to shield the entire pattern area, the remaining light shielding required width wr of the n ′ − (n + 1) remaining light shielding members is calculated (step s3). That is, if the width of the entire pattern P region is wm and the required overlap margin is s, the remaining light-shielding required width wr considering the required overlap margin s with the opening 11c is calculated by the following equation (1).

  Next, the width wx when the remaining light shielding members of n ′ − (n + 1) sheets have a uniform width is calculated by the following equation (2) (step s4).

  Then, it is determined by equation (3) whether or not an arbitrary width can be shielded by the light shielding member having the width wx (step s5).

  If Expression (3) is satisfied, the width of the remaining light shielding member is set to wx (step s6). On the other hand, if the expression (3) does not hold, the width (n + 1) of the (n + 1) th light shielding member is set to wa (step s7), 1 is added to n (step s8), and the process goes to step s3. return.

  Next, the operation of the proximity scan exposure apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. Here, as the substrate to be used, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, 2 having regions NR and NR ′ having minimum non-exposure widths wNR and wNR ′ (> wNR) between panels. A case will be described in which a single substrate W is used to transfer one of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colored layer patterns to the photoresist applied to the substrate W.

  The proximity scanning exposure apparatus 1 floats and holds the substrate W by the air flow of the exhaust air pad 20 and the intake / exhaust air pad 21 of the levitation unit 16, and adsorbs one end of the substrate W by the substrate drive unit 17 to make the X direction constant. Transport at speed. The substrate W located below the mask holding unit 11 is irradiated with the exposure light EL from the irradiation unit 13 through the mask M, and the pattern of the mask M is transferred to the photoresist applied to the substrate W. To do. At this time, the position error between the substrate W and the mask M is determined by the θ direction drive unit 33 and the command signal output from the control unit 15 based on the position data of the substrate W and the mask M detected by an imaging unit (not shown). Correction is performed (position alignment) by operating the Y-direction drive unit 32 and finely adjusting the position of the mask M.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the front end portion of the substrate W starts to enter below the pattern region of the mask M, a plurality of non-exposed regions NRO at the front end portion are not exposed. The light shielding members 60, 60, 61 and 62 are arranged side by side with a necessary overlap margin s in the transport direction to shield the entire area of the pattern P. Then, as the exposure area of the substrate W enters below the mask M, the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, 62 are gradually moved while being synchronized with the conveyance of the substrate, and the pattern P of the mask M is exposed and transferred. .

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the substrate W having the minimum non-exposure region NR is exposed, the first light shielding member 60 formed so as to correspond to the width wNR is synchronized with the transport of the substrate. The substrate W is exposed while forming this non-exposure region NR.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the substrate W having the minimum non-exposure region NRO is exposed, the two first light shielding members 60 and 60 are overlapped so as to correspond to the width wNRO. The substrate W is moved in synchronism with the transfer of the substrate, and the substrate W is exposed while forming the non-exposure region NRO. Therefore, in the present embodiment, by using the four light shielding members 60, 60, 61, and 62, it is arbitrary in the transport direction within the range of the width wNR of the minimum non-exposure region NR and the width wm of the entire pattern P region. It is possible to perform exposure transfer while forming a non-exposed region with a width of.

  As described above, according to the scan exposure apparatus 1 and the scan exposure method of the present embodiment, each light shielding unit 14 includes the first light shielding member 60 whose width w1 in the transport direction is equal to or less than the minimum non-exposure width wNR in the direction. 60, a second light shielding member 61 whose width w2 in the transport direction is larger than that of the first light shielding member 60, and a third light shielding member 62 whose width w3 in the transport direction is larger than the width w3 of the second light shielding member 61. A light shielding member. Then, in a state where the substrate W is transported below the mask M, the entire region of the pattern P of the mask M is shielded by the plurality of light shielding members 60, 60, 61, 62, and the first light shielding member 60 is transported by the substrate W. The substrate W is exposed while forming a non-exposure region NR having a minimum non-exposure width wNR. Therefore, the light shielding part 14 is configured with a simple configuration, and the light for exposure EL can be shielded by selectively using the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, 62, and the region of the minimum non-exposure width wNR can be shielded. The entire pattern area of the mask M can be shielded efficiently.

  Further, since the light shielding portion 14 includes the two first light shielding members 60 and 60, the width 2 considering the necessary overlap margin s of the two first light shielding members 60 and 60 from the width w 1 of the first light shielding member 60. A non-exposure region having an arbitrary width can be designed in the conveyance direction within the range of xw1-s.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the widths w1, w2, and w3 of the first to third light shielding members are shielded with an arbitrary width within the range of the width w1 of the first light shielding member 60 and the width wm of the entire pattern P region. Each is designed as possible. Thus, the width of the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, 62 is designed according to the number of the light shielding members 60, 60, 61, 62, and exposure can be performed while forming a desired non-exposure area according to the substrate W. it can.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably.
The minimum non-exposure width in the predetermined direction of the substrate of the present invention represents the minimum non-exposure width corresponding to the substrate having the smallest minimum non-exposure width among various substrates exposed by the scanning exposure apparatus. The width is set in consideration of various substrates to be exposed.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the substrate transport mechanism 10 transports the substrate W while being floated and held by the floating unit 16 and the substrate driving unit 17 is described. You may hold | maintain and convey while mounting.

It is a top view of the proximity scanning exposure apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the proximity scan exposure apparatus in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the light shielding member and mask pattern of this embodiment. It is a flowchart for designing the width | variety of a light-shielding member. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the board | substrate from which minimum non-exposure width differs. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the light shielding member at the time of exposure, (a) is the state which the board | substrate began to enter under the mask, (b) light-shields the minimum non-exposure width of the light shielding member of Fig.5 (a). (C) is a diagram showing a state in which the minimum non-exposure width of the light shielding member in FIG. 5 (b) is shielded.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Proximity scanning exposure apparatus 10 Substrate conveyance mechanism 11 Mask holding part 13 Irradiation part 14 Light shielding part 60 1st light shielding member 61 2nd light shielding member 62 3rd light shielding member EL Exposure light M Mask W Glass substrate

Claims (4)

A substrate transport mechanism capable of transporting a substrate along a predetermined direction;
A plurality of mask holders each holding a plurality of masks;
A plurality of irradiation units that are respectively disposed above the plurality of mask holding units and irradiate the exposure light;
A plurality of light shielding portions arranged between each of the irradiation units and each of the mask holding units, for shielding the exposure light emitted from the irradiation unit;
A scanning exposure apparatus that irradiates the substrate transported in the predetermined direction with exposure light through the mask and exposes the pattern of the mask on the substrate,
Each of the light shielding portions includes at least a first light shielding member whose width in the predetermined direction is equal to or less than a minimum non-exposure width in the direction, and a second light shielding member whose width in the predetermined direction is larger than the first light shielding member. Having a plurality of light shielding members provided,
The width of each light shielding member is set so as to shield the entire region of the pattern when the plurality of light shielding members are arranged side by side with an overlap in the predetermined direction. Exposure device.   The scan exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of light shielding members include at least two first light shielding members.   3. The width of each of the plurality of light shielding members is designed so that light can be shielded with an arbitrary width within a range not less than the minimum non-exposure width and not more than the entire width of the pattern. The scanning exposure apparatus described. A substrate transport mechanism capable of transporting a substrate along a predetermined direction, a plurality of mask holders that respectively hold a plurality of masks, and a plurality of mask holders, respectively, are disposed above the plurality of mask holders and irradiates the exposure light. A plurality of irradiation units, and a plurality of light shielding units arranged between the plurality of irradiation units and the plurality of mask holding units, respectively, for shielding the exposure light emitted from the irradiation unit, Each light shielding portion includes at least a first light shielding member whose width in the predetermined direction is equal to or less than a minimum non-exposure width in the direction, and a second light shielding member whose width in the predetermined direction is larger than the first light shielding member. A scan exposure apparatus having a plurality of light shielding members, irradiating exposure light to the substrate conveyed in the predetermined direction through the mask, and exposing the pattern of the mask to the substrate A law,
In a state where the substrate is conveyed under the mask, the step of shielding the entire pattern area of the mask by the plurality of light shielding members;
Moving the first light-shielding member in synchronization with transport of the substrate and exposing the substrate while forming a non-exposed region of the minimum non-exposed width;
A scan exposure method comprising:

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