JP2012127738A - Substrate defect checkup system and substrate defect checkup method, and conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate defect checkup system and a substrate defect checkup method that enable the quantity of distortion a substrate itself involves to be corrected and the substrate to be checked up accurately even if the substrate has lost much of its thickness, and a conveying apparatus that can convey a substrate while correcting the quantity of distortion a substrate itself involves and maintaining the substrate in an examinable range.SOLUTION: In a substrate defect checkup system or a substrate defect checkup method by which a substrate is mounted, conveyed to an examination area for examining the substrate, and photographed by irradiating the examination area with examining light to check up any defect in the substrate, the substrate is reformed into a curved shape and subjected to the examination using a plurality of optical checkup units arranged along the curved shape.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate defect inspection system such as a glass substrate and a plastic substrate used for manufacturing a display panel, a substrate defect inspection method, and a transfer device, and is particularly suitable for inspecting scratches and foreign matter on the surface of a large substrate. The present invention relates to a substrate defect inspection system, a substrate defect inspection method, and a transfer device.

  Manufacture of a liquid crystal display panel and a solar cell panel is performed by forming a pattern on a glass substrate by a photolithography technique or the like. At that time, if there are defects such as scratches or foreign matter on the surface of the glass substrate, the pattern is not formed satisfactorily, causing a defect. For this reason, conventionally, a defect inspection apparatus has been used to inspect defects such as scratches and foreign matter on the surface of a glass substrate.

  As this type of conventional defect inspection apparatus, there are Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example. In Patent Document 1, it is disclosed that a substrate is transported and inspected in a planar state. Patent Document 2 discloses that a substrate is transported in a planar state, and the substrate is bent and visually inspected so that reflected light from the entire surface of the substrate enters a visual field of view at the inspection position of the substrate.

JP 2008-292184 A JP 2009-271001 A

  However, as the size of the substrate increases, the thinner the substrate, the greater the amount of distortion that the substrate itself has, making it difficult to correct the overall flatness of the substrate. In particular, the distortion of the substrate itself cannot be corrected even if it is simply curved as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a substrate defect inspection that can correct the amount of strain of the substrate itself and accurately inspect the substrate even when the substrate is thin. A system and a substrate defect inspection method are provided.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that can correct the amount of distortion of the substrate itself and transport the substrate while maintaining it in an inspectable range even when the substrate is thinned.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has at least the following features.
The present invention provides a substrate defect inspection system or a substrate defect inspection in which a substrate is placed and transported to an inspection region for inspecting the substrate, and the inspection region is irradiated with inspection light to image the substrate and inspect for defects in the substrate. The method is characterized in that the substrate is corrected to a curved shape, and the inspection is performed by a plurality of optical inspection units arranged along the curved shape.

In the present invention, the curved conveyance path formed in the curved shape is formed by providing a plurality of substrate surface conveyance rollers arranged in the vertical direction in contact with the surface of the substrate in the conveyance direction, The second feature is that the curved shape holding means for holding the curved shape of the substrate holds the substrate in the curved shape on the substrate surface transport roller.
Further, in the present invention, the holding is in contact with the substrate at a side portion in the transport direction of the substrate, is in contact with the substrate at a side transport roller that sandwiches both sides of the substrate, or an end portion in the transport direction of the substrate, The third feature is that the end is performed by a side conveyance roller that presses the end portion toward the substrate surface conveyance roller.

Further, in the present invention, the curved conveyance path is configured by an air levitation stage that contacts the surface of the substrate and has a curved shape in the vertical direction, and floats the substrate in air, and the curved shape holding means includes According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the floated substrate is held in the curved shape, and the transport device has a drive unit that grips and transports the substrate.
Further, the present invention provides a holding means provided in the drive unit for holding the end in the conveyance direction of the substrate at an angle corresponding to the inclination of the curved shape, and other holding direction in the substrate conveyance direction. A fifth feature is that the end portion is held by holding means for holding the end portion at an angle corresponding to the inclination of the curved shape.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the holding means is a substrate holding unit that includes an opening having an angle corresponding to the inclination and the substrate moves in the opening.
The seventh feature of the present invention is that a plurality of the optical inspection units are provided, and the inspection is performed by arranging the plurality of optical inspection units along the curved shape.

Further, according to the present invention, the transfer is performed by moving the state of the substrate from a flat surface to the curved shape toward the inspection region, and after the inspection, the state of the substrate is shifted from the curved shape to the flat surface. Is the eighth feature.
Further, the present invention is an apparatus for transporting a substrate, the curved transport path having a curved shape in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transporting the substrate (transport direction), and the substrate along the curved transport path A ninth feature is that it has a curved shape holding means for holding the curved shape, and a driving means for transporting the substrate on the curved shape conveyance path.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if a board | substrate becomes thin, the distortion amount which a board | substrate itself has can be corrected, and the board | substrate defect inspection system or the board | substrate defect inspection method which can test | inspect a board | substrate accurately can be provided.
In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transport device that can correct the amount of distortion of the substrate itself and transport the substrate while maintaining the inspectable range even when the substrate is thinned.

It is the schematic which shows 1st Embodiment of the glass substrate defect inspection system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the optical unit used for 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the conveyance part and optical inspection apparatus of 1st Embodiment which are the characteristics of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other Example of the conveyance part of 1st Embodiment which is the characteristics of this invention. It is the schematic which shows 2nd Embodiment of the glass substrate defect inspection system of invention. It is the figure which showed schematic structure which looked at the conveyance part of the inspection stage in the state of FIG. 5 from the upper part. It is the figure which showed the structure of the air levitation stage. It is the figure which looked at the cross section containing the optical unit of the optical inspection apparatus in 2nd Embodiment from the cross section BB shown in FIG. It is the figure which looked at the cross section containing the test | inspection area | region R which shows the precision stage which is the characteristics of this embodiment containing a 1st optical unit in FIG. 8 from the cross section CC.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a substrate defect inspection system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a glass substrate defect inspection system as an example.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment 100 of the glass substrate defect inspection system of the present invention. The glass substrate defect inspection system 100 includes a load stage 61A on which a substrate P is placed by a transfer robot (not shown) or the like, inspection stages 61B and 62C having optical inspection devices 8B and 8C for inspecting the substrate P, and inspection. An unload stage 61D for unloading the substrate P from the line by a transfer robot (not shown) or the like is provided. Further, the glass substrate defect inspection system 100 includes transport units 41A to 41D that are provided on the stages 61A to 61D and transport the substrate P to the downstream stage, and a transport drive unit 41K that drives the transport units 41A to 41D. And a control device 30 that monitors and controls the state of the transport device 40 and the transport device 40 and the optical inspection devices 8B and 8C.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the load stage 61A has just placed the substrate PA, the inspection stages 61B and 61B inspected the substrates PB and PC, and the unload stage is about to carry out the substrate PD. Each substrate P is transported in the direction of arrow B, which is the X axis. Further, in the following description, the suffixes A to D are omitted when the whole reference numerals are represented.

  The optical inspection apparatus 8 has a plurality of optical units 9 shown in FIG. 2 in the Y direction shown in FIG. The optical unit 9 includes a light projecting system that irradiates the inspection light 2 onto the substrate P, a reflected light detection system that receives reflected light from the substrate P, and a light receiving system that receives scattered light from the substrate P.

  The light projecting system includes a laser light source 91, lenses 92 and 93, and a mirror 94. The laser light source 91 generates laser light that becomes the inspection light 2. The lens 92 condenses the laser light generated from the laser light source 91. The lens 93 focuses the laser light collected by the lens 92. The mirror 94 irradiates the laser beam focused by the lens 93 obliquely onto the substrate P as the inspection light 2.

  A part of the inspection light 2 irradiated obliquely to the substrate P is reflected by the surface of the substrate P, and a part of the inspection light 2 is transmitted to the inside of the substrate P. When the surface of the substrate P has a defect such as a scratch or a foreign substance, a part of the inspection light 2 irradiated to the substrate P is scattered by the defect, and scattered light is generated. A part of the inspection light 2 transmitted to the inside of the substrate P is reflected by the back surface of the substrate P, and a part is emitted from the back surface of the substrate P to the outside. When there is a defect such as a scratch or a foreign substance on the back surface of the substrate P, a part of the inspection light 2 transmitted to the inside of the substrate P is scattered by the defect, and scattered light is generated.

  The light receiving system includes a condenser lens 97, an imaging lens 98, and a CCD line sensor 99. The condensing lens 97 condenses scattered light from the front or back surface of the substrate P, and the imaging lens 98 forms an image of the scattered light collected by the condensing lens 97 on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 99. . The CCD line sensor 99 has a plurality of CCDs arranged on the light receiving surface, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the intensity of scattered light received on the light receiving surface to the signal conversion circuit 34 of the control device (see FIG. 1) 30.

  The reflected light detection system includes a mirror 94, a lens 95, and a CCD line sensor 96. Reflected light from the surface of the substrate P enters the lens 95 through the mirror 94. The lens 95 focuses the reflected light from the surface of the substrate P and forms an image on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 96.

  At this time, the light receiving position of the reflected light on the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 96 varies depending on the height of the surface of the substrate P. The CCD line sensor 96 has a plurality of CCDs arranged on the light receiving surface, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the intensity of the reflected light received on the light receiving surface to the focus adjustment control circuit 31 in the control device (see FIG. 1) 30. The focus adjustment control circuit 31 drives the focus adjustment mechanism 90 according to a command from the CPU 32 in the control device 30. For example, when inspecting a defect on the surface of the substrate P, the focus adjustment control circuit 31 determines that the reflected light from the surface of the substrate P is detected at the center position of the light receiving surface of the CCD line sensor 96 from the detection signal of the CCD line sensor 96. The focus adjustment mechanism 90 is driven to move the optical unit 9 so that the light is received. The focus adjustment mechanism 90 is configured by, for example, a pulse motor, and adjusts the focus position by moving the optical unit 9 up and down in accordance with the drive pulse from the focus adjustment control circuit 31. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the optical unit 9 within the adjustment range of the focus adjustment mechanism 90, that is, within the inspectable range.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the transport unit 41 and the optical inspection device 8 according to the first embodiment, which is a feature of the present invention. Since each of the transport units 41A to 41D and the optical inspection devices 8B and 8C have basically the same configuration, the configuration of the transport unit 41B of the inspection stage 61B and the optical inspection device 8B is representatively shown in FIG. Show. However, in order to avoid complication, the subscript B is omitted from the reference numerals. FIG. 3A shows a view of the transport unit 41 from above, and FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

  The transport unit 41 is in contact with the substrate surface, transports the substrate P, and contacts a plurality of (in this example, five) substrate surface transport rollers 42 that form a curved transport path on the side surface in the transport direction of the substrate P. A plurality of sets (four in total in the front and rear sides in this example) of side conveying rollers 43 (curved shape holding means), and one or more sets of curved forming conveying roller portions 44 indicated by broken lines in the conveying direction ( In this embodiment, the substrate curved shape forming means includes three sets (44a to 44c). In FIG. 3 (a), in order to avoid complications, symbols are distributed to 44b and 44c.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the five substrate surface transport rollers 42a to 42e are rotatably supported by a non-rotating support shaft 42s having a step so that the substrate P can form a curved shape. Further, among the five substrate surface transport rollers 42a to 42e, the substrate surface transport rollers 42a and 42e on both sides are rotated by the drive wheel 42r. The drive wheel 42r is fixed to a drive shaft 42j that is rotated by a drive source (not shown). The substrate-side transport rollers 42b to 42d on the center side are driven wheels that rotate as the substrate P moves. In addition, the curved shape shown in FIG. The same applies to other drawings.

  On the other hand, the four side transport rollers 43a to 43d are provided in front of and behind the transport (X) direction of the substrate surface transport rollers 42a and 42e. It pinches and gives downward force. As a result, the substrate P forms a curve along the five substrate surface transport rollers 42a to 42e. That is, it serves as a curved shape holding means for holding the substrate in a curved shape. At this time, the four side conveyance rollers 43a to 43d are driven to rotate in the directions of arrows D and E by the substrate P moved by the substrate surface conveyance rollers 42a and 42e, respectively. Of course, at least one of the four side conveyance rollers 43a to 43d may be driven such that the four side conveyance rollers 43a to 43d rotate in the directions of arrows D and E.

In addition, in order to form a stable curved shape in the inspection region for inspecting the substrate P of the optical inspection apparatus 8, the following method and a configuration for realizing the method are required. First, the first method is a case where the substrate P is placed on the load stage 61A in a planar state and is unloaded in the planar state on the unload stage 61D. In this case, it is necessary to shift the substrate P from the flat state to the curved state before the inspection, and to shift the substrate P from the curved shape state to the flat state after the inspection. For this purpose, for example, in front of the inspection area of the inspection stage 61B, the heights of the substrate surface transport rollers 42b to 42d on the center side among the five substrate surface transport rollers 42a to 42e are gradually increased, and the side transport rollers The width of 43 is gradually reduced. In the rear part of the inspection area, the inspection stage 61C also gradually lowers the height of the center-side substrate surface transport rollers 42b to 42d and gradually widens the side transport rollers 43 so that it can be unloaded. The configuration is as follows. After the inspection, the substrate P may be shifted from the curved shape state to the planar state all at once.
The second method is a case where the substrate P is placed on a load stage 61A having a curved shape and carried out by an unload stage 61D having a curved shape. In this case, a mechanism that gradually narrows or widens the width of the side conveyance roller 43 existing at the front end portion or the rear end portion of the substrate P being conveyed is adopted.

As described above, by forcibly correcting the shape of the substrate P into a curved shape, a stable curved posture can be maintained regardless of the amount of strain that the substrate P has.
Corresponding to this posture, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the optical unit 9 (four units 9A to 9D in FIG. 3 (b)) provided in FIG. Arranged in the opposite direction (X) direction and the vertical (Y) direction according to the shape. Although it is desirable to arrange it completely in accordance with the surface shape of the substrate P, it may be installed in a range where the focus adjustment mechanism 90 of the optical unit 9 can be adjusted as described with reference to FIG. Extremely speaking, if the adjustment range of the focus adjustment mechanism 90 is wide, a plurality of optical units 9 may be arranged flat.

  According to the embodiment described above, the amount of distortion of the substrate itself can be corrected, and the substrate can be inspected with high accuracy.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of the curved shape holding means. In Example 1 shown in FIG. 3, the substrate P is pressed from above so as to be sandwiched by the side conveyance rollers 43. However, Example 2 shown in FIG. The substrate P is forcibly corrected to a curved shape by pressing directly from above with the partial transport roller 43. In this case, the transition between the plane and the curve is the same as that of the first embodiment in the transition configuration of the substrate surface conveyance roller 42, but the height of the side conveyance roller 43 is set to the substrate surface conveyance roller for the first method. For the second method, the height of the side conveyance roller 43 existing at the front end portion or the rear end portion of the substrate P being conveyed is gradually lowered or increased. Mechanism.

In addition, the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4B has an opening 45a having an inclination angle corresponding to the inclination of the curved shape at both ends in the transport direction of the substrate P, and the substrate holding unit 45 in which the substrate P moves. Are provided on the inspection stages 61B and 61C to forcibly correct the substrate P into a curved shape. In addition, a roller 45b is provided on the sliding surface inside the opening 45a, or the surface is mirror-finished to facilitate movement. In this case, the transition between the plane and the curve is the same as that of the first embodiment in the configuration of the substrate surface conveyance roller 42, but the inclination angle of the substrate holding unit 45 is set to be different from that of the substrate surface conveyance roller 42 in the first method. The mechanism is changed according to the height. Although a special mechanism is not necessary for the second method, it is necessary to devise the substrate P so that the substrate holding unit 45 can be easily inserted into the opening 45a.
Further, the number of the substrate surface conveyance roller 42, the side conveyance roller 43, the curve formation conveyance roller unit 44, and the like described above is an example, and other numbers may be provided.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment 200 of the glass substrate defect inspection system of the present invention. Similarly to the first embodiment, the glass substrate defect inspection system 200 includes a load stage 61A on which the substrate P is placed by a transfer robot (not shown) and the like, and optical inspection devices 8B and 8C that inspect the substrate P. The inspection stages 61B and 62C and the inspected substrate P are unloaded stage 61D for unloading from the line by a transfer robot (not shown). Similarly to the first embodiment, the glass substrate defect inspection system 200 includes a drive unit 52 that holds the substrate P and transports the substrate P to a downstream stage, and an air supply intake unit 54 that drives the drive unit 52. A control device 30 is provided for monitoring and controlling the states of the device 50, the transport device 50, and the optical inspection devices 8B and 8C.

  FIG. 5 shows a state in which the substrate PB and PC are inspected by the inspection stages 61B and 61B after the substrate of the unload stage 61D has already been unloaded and the substrate PA is placed on the load stage 61A. Each substrate P is transported in the direction of arrow B, which is the X axis. Further, in the following description, the suffixes A to D are omitted when the whole reference numerals are represented.

A difference of the second embodiment 200 from the first embodiment is a transport device 50. The transport apparatus 50 of the second embodiment is that an air levitation method is employed in which the substrate P is transported by air levitation.
The transfer device 50 squeezes the air levitation stage 51 and the air levitation stage 51 that include the air levitation stage 51 that constitutes each of the stages 61 </ b> A to 61 </ b> D and the drive unit 52 that moves between the adjacent stages 61 while holding and floating the substrate P. The air supply / intake unit 54 includes a compressed air supply source 54A for supplying air and a vacuum supply source 54B for intake of air.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the transport unit 53 of the inspection stage 61B in the state shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from above. The air levitation stage 51 of the inspection stage 61 has rectangular divided stages 51B arranged in a plurality in the transport (X) direction. The division stage 51B includes a precision levitation stage 51S provided at both ends of an inspection region R for inspection described later, and a high levitation stage 51H provided at other portions.

  The driving unit 52 includes a linear guide 52a provided along the conveyance (X) direction of the air levitation stage 51, a linear actuator 52b that travels along the linear guide 52a, and a substrate P that is fixed to the linear actuator 52b. A gripper 52c for gripping and a linear scale 52d for detecting the position of the linear actuator 52b on the linear guide 52a (conveyance (X) direction) are provided. A substrate holding unit 45 having the same structure as the support unit shown in FIG. 4B is provided on the opposite side of the drive unit 52 together with the gripper 52c to stably hold the substrate P.

  The control device 30 reads the position information of the linear scale 52d and controls the conveyance speed and the gripper 52c.

  FIG. 7A shows the configuration of the precision levitation stage 51S, and FIG. 7B shows the configuration of the high levitation upper stage 51H. As described above, the inspection is performed in the inspection region R (see FIG. 6) having a width of about 40 mm between the adjacent divided stages 51B. Accordingly, the precision levitation stage 51S levitates the substrate P so as to maintain the flatness of the substrate P across the inspection region R. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the precision levitation stage 51H has a spout PE (white circle) that blows out compressed air to levitate the substrate P and a suction port PV ( Alternating with black circles). Then, the compressed air supply source 54A and the vacuum supply source 54B are controlled to balance the both so as to obtain the flatness of the substrate P. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, the high floating stage 51 </ b> H has only the ejection port PE that ejects the compressed air that floats the substrate P, stably floats the substrate P, and reduces the conveyance speed. I try not to become a load.

  The conveyance unit 53 of the inspection stage 61C has basically the same configuration as the inspection stage 61B. In addition, the transfer unit 53 of the load stage 61A and the unload stage 61d is configured by only the high floating stage 51H.

  FIG. 8 is a view as seen from a cross section BB in FIG. 6 including the optical unit 10 of the optical inspection apparatuses 8B and 8C in the second embodiment. The optical unit 10 includes a first optical unit 10A that inspects scratches and dirt on the glass substrate P, and a second optical unit 10B that inspects bubbles, foreign matter, and dirt.

  The first optical unit 10A is divided into a light source unit 16A and an imaging unit 11A. The light source unit 16A includes a laser light source 17A capable of forming a linear light source, a mirror 18A for obliquely irradiating laser light, and a cylindrical lens 19A for forming stable linear light in order to detect a scratch of about 10 μm. And have. On the other hand, the imaging unit 11A includes a lens 13A that receives scattered light from the front or back surface of the glass substrate P, a polarization beam splitter 14A that separates the scattered light from the light receiving lens into P-polarized light and S-polarized light, and a glass substrate P. Line CCDs 12A1 and 12A2 for imaging a predetermined width of the glass substrate as it is conveyed.

  On the other hand, the second optical unit 10B detects bubbles, foreign matter, or dirt based on luminance unevenness of the imaging result obtained by the imaging unit 11B. Therefore, the transmitted light is detected from the glass substrate P by using an LED or a fluorescent lamp that can irradiate in a wide range as the light source 16B. The imaging unit 11B includes an imaging unit 12B and a lens 13B that receives transmitted light. In addition, the imaging unit 12B uses the line CCD 12B in the same manner as the first optical unit 10A in order to efficiently image a predetermined width as the glass substrate P moves.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the precision stage 51S including the first optical unit 10B including the inspection region R shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the precision levitation stage 51S forms a curved conveyance path, and the gripper 52c and the inspection stages 61B and 61C are provided at both ends of the precision levitation stage 51S. The substrate holding unit 45 shown in FIG. Is provided. The substrate P is transported while the gripper 52c fixes one side in the transport direction and the other side is held (supported) by the substrate holding unit 45. The inclination angle of the gripper 52c and the substrate holding unit 45 has an angle suitable for the curved shape as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4B. As a result, the substrate P is forcibly corrected to the curved shape of the precision levitation stage 51S.
In addition, since the conveyance path is composed of the precision levitation stage 51S and the high floating stage 51H, the high floating stage 51H also forms a curved conveyance path.

  As described above, the substrate curved shape forming means in this embodiment is a curved shape holding device that includes the floating stage 51 having the curved shape conveyance path, the gripper 52c that holds the substrate in a curved shape, and the substrate holding unit 45. Means. Further, instead of the substrate holding unit 45 which is a curved shape holding means, a side conveyance roller shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4A can be used.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the imaging units 11B are provided in six locations in the Y direction, and light sources 16B that are light source means of the imaging units 11B in two locations are provided in three locations in the Y direction. And each imaging unit 11Ba-11Bf and light source 16Ba-16c are provided so that it may become perpendicular | vertical with respect to a curved shape, in order to reduce imaging distortion as much as possible. This method of providing vertically is also applicable to the first embodiment. In FIG. 9, arrows indicate the air flow.
Although FIG. 9 shows the second optical unit 10B as an example, the same applies to the second optical unit 10A.
First, similarly to the embodiment, it is necessary to form a stable curved shape in the region where the substrate P of the optical inspection apparatus 8 is inspected. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the gripper 52c holds the predetermined substrate, it is desirable that the substrate P is placed on the load stage 61A having a curved shape and carried out by the unload stage 61D having a curved shape. . And about the board | substrate holding | maintenance unit 45 provided in the test | inspection stage, the device similar to Example 3 of 1st Embodiment is performed.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, by forcibly correcting the shape of the substrate P into a curved shape, a stable curved posture can be maintained regardless of the amount of strain that the substrate P has, The board can be inspected with high accuracy.

  In the first and second embodiments of the glass substrate defect inspection system described above, a plurality (2 in the embodiment) of optical inspection apparatuses are provided. This is because when a single optical inspection apparatus cannot inspect the entire area of the substrate, a plurality of optical inspection apparatuses divide and inspect the area to shorten the processing time and improve the throughput. .

  Further, the first and second embodiments of the glass substrate defect inspection system described above have two optical inspection apparatuses as processing units. However, the number of processing units is not limited to two. The configuration of the processing unit may be a combination of at least one optical inspection apparatus and a processing unit that performs other processing.

8B, 8C: Optical inspection device 9, 10: Optical unit 11B, 11Ba-11Bf: Imaging unit 16, 16a-16c: Light source 30: Control device 40: Transport device 41A-41D in the first embodiment: Transport unit 41K : Transport drive units 42, 42a to 42e: Substrate surface transport rollers 43, 43a to 43d: Side transport rollers 44, 44a to 42c: Curve forming transport roller unit 45: Substrate holding unit 50: Transport device in the second embodiment 51: Air levitation stage 51B: Split stage 51S: Precision levitation stage 51H: High levitation stage 52: Drive unit 52c: Gripper 53: Transfer unit 54: Air supply intake unit 54A: Compressed air supply source 54B: Vacuum supply source 61A- 61D: Stage 100: Glass substrate defect inspection system 200 of the first embodiment 200: Glass substrate defect inspection system P, PA to PB: Substrate PE: Squeeze air outlet PV: Air suction port R: Inspection region.

Claims (17)

An optical inspection apparatus comprising: a transport device that mounts a substrate and conveys the substrate to an inspection region that inspects the substrate; and an optical unit that irradiates the inspection region with inspection light to image the substrate and inspect the substrate for defects. In a substrate defect inspection system having
The transport device includes a curved transport path having a curved shape in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (transport direction), and a curved shape holding unit that holds the substrate in a curved shape along the curved transport path. A substrate defect inspection system comprising:   The curved shape conveying path is formed of an air levitation stage that is in contact with the surface of the substrate and has a curved shape in the vertical direction, and causes the substrate to air levitate, and the curved shape holding means is The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is held in the curved shape, and the transport device includes a drive unit that grips and transports the substrate.   The curved shape holding means includes a gripping means for gripping the substrate at an angle corresponding to the inclination of the curved shape and an end portion of the substrate in the transport direction, and another end portion of the substrate in the transport direction of the curved shape. The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 2, further comprising holding and gripping means for holding the substrate at an angle corresponding to an inclination.   4. The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 3, wherein the holding unit includes an opening having an angle corresponding to the inclination, and the substrate has a substrate holding unit that moves in the opening.   4. The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 3, wherein the holding unit includes a side conveyance roller that contacts the substrate at the other end and presses the end toward the air levitation stage.   The curved shape conveying path is formed by providing a plurality of sets of substrate surface conveying rollers arranged in the vertical direction in contact with the surface of the substrate in the conveying direction, and the curved shape holding means is configured to place the substrate on the substrate surface. The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the curved shape is held on a conveyance roller.   The said curved shape holding means has a side part conveyance roller which touches a board | substrate in the edge part of the conveyance direction of the said board | substrate, and presses down the said edge part to the said board | substrate surface conveyance roller side. Substrate defect inspection system.   The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 6, wherein the curved shape holding unit includes a side conveyance roller that contacts the substrate at a side portion in a conveyance direction of the substrate and sandwiches both sides of the substrate.   9. The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 7, wherein the curved shape holding unit includes a unit that drives the side conveyance roller.   The curved shape holding means includes an opening having an inclination angle corresponding to the inclination of the curved shape at both ends of the substrate in the transport direction, and the substrate has a substrate holding unit that moves in the opening. The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 6.   The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the optical inspection units are provided, and the plurality of optical inspection units are arranged along the curved shape.   The substrate defect inspection system according to claim 2, further comprising a processing device that performs processing different from the optical inspection device. In the substrate defect inspection method for mounting the substrate and transporting it to the inspection region for inspecting the substrate, irradiating the inspection region with inspection light, imaging the substrate, and inspecting the substrate for defects,
A substrate defect inspection method, wherein the substrate is corrected to a curved shape, and the inspection is performed by a plurality of optical inspection units arranged along the curved shape.   14. The substrate defect according to claim 13, wherein the state of the substrate is shifted from a flat surface to the curved shape toward the inspection region, and the state of the substrate is transferred from the curved shape to the flat surface after inspection. Inspection method.   A curved conveying path having a curved shape in a direction perpendicular to a direction (conveying direction) for conveying a substrate, curved shape holding means for holding the substrate in a curved shape along the curved conveying path, and bending the substrate A conveying device comprising a driving means for conveying on a shape conveying path.   The curved shape conveying path is formed by providing a plurality of sets of substrate surface conveying rollers arranged in the vertical direction in contact with the surface of the substrate in the conveying direction, and the curved shape holding means is configured to place the substrate on the substrate surface. The transport apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a side transport roller that holds the curved shape on the transport roller, wherein the driving unit rotates the substrate surface transport roller.   The curved shape conveying path is formed of an air levitation stage that is in contact with the surface of the substrate and has a curved shape in the vertical direction and levitates the substrate, and has curved shape holding means for holding the curved shape. The curved shape holding means includes a gripping means for gripping an end portion of the substrate in the transport direction at an angle suitable for the inclination of the curved shape, and another end portion of the substrate in the transport direction. The transport apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a holding unit configured to hold at an angle suitable for the driving unit, wherein the driving unit includes a driving unit that moves the gripping unit in the transport direction of the substrate.

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